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National Policy for Children-2012
India and China: Different Game Plans for Securing Energy
India Backbone Implementation Network
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National Policy for Children-2012 National Policy for Children-2012 National Policy for Children-2012 National Policy for Children-2012 National Policy for Children-2012
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Fundamental Rights [Article
15(3)] empowers the State to make
special provisions for children. The
Directive Principles of State
Pol i cy (Arti cl e 39) i n the
Constitution specifically guide the
State in securing the tender age of
children from abuse and ensuring
that children are given opportunities
and facilities to develop in a healthy
manner in conditions of freedom
and dignity. .. ..Ensuring survival, health
and nutrition as an inalienable right
of every child and special care for
kids caught in sectarian violence are
some of the features of the
governments Draft National Policy
for Children, 2012. The Women and
Child Development (WCD) ministry,
which has revised the National
Policy for Children for the first time
since it was adopted in 1974, has
now put the draft policy, which
defines any individual below the age
of 18 years as child, in public
domain inviting views before it is
finalised.According to ministry
officials, the policy would guide and
inform all laws, policies, plans and
programmes affecting children and
National Policy for Children-2012
disasters etc. Children of women in
prostitution, children forced into
prostitution and other abused and
exploited children, those affected
by HIV/AIDS, children with
disabilities would also be eligible for
state protection by the state.
The Cabinet approved the
National Policy for Children, 2012
which recognises child survival,
health, nutrition, education,
development and protection as
undeniable rights of every child. As
per the National Child Policy every
person below the age of eighteen
years as a child and that childhood
is an integral part of life with a value
of its own. According to the policy,
a long term, sustainable, multi-
sectoral, integrated and inclusive
approach is necessary for the
harmonious development and
protection of children. The policy
lays down the guiding principles
that must be respected by national,
state and local governments in their
actions and initiatives affecting
children, a statement released by
the government here said. The key
guiding principles of the policy are
all other actions of national, state
and local Governments in relation to
population below 18 years.
Amongst the key priorities listed in
the draft are making survival, health,
nutrition, development, education,
protection and participation
undeniable rights of every child. As
per the policy draft, every child has
a right to be safeguarded against
hunger, deprivation and
malnutrition and the State would
commit to securing this right
through access, provision and
promotion of required services and
supports for holistic nurturing.
The State shall also take all
necessary measures to improve
maternal health care secure the right
of the girl child and address
discrimination of all forms in schools
and foster equal opportunity. As per
the draft policy, the state would take
special protection measures to
secure the rights and entitlements
of children in difficult
circumstances, in particular but not
limited to, children affected by
migration, displacement, communal
or sectarian violence, civil unrest,
http://www.civilservicesmentor.com 4 44 44 http://upscportal.com
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the right of every child to life,
survival, development, education,
protection and participation, equal
rights for all children without
discrimination.
The best interest of the child
should be a primary concern in all
actions and decisions affecting
children and family environment as
the most conducive for all-round
development of children. The
policy has identified survival, health,
nutrition, education, development,
protection and participation as the
undeniable rights of every child, and
has also declared these as key
priority areas, the statement
released here said. The National
Child policy also strives to create
convergence and co-ordination
across different sectors and levels
of governance, partnerships with all
stakeholders, setting up of a
comprehensive knowledge base,
provision of adequate resources;
and sensitisation and capacity
development of all those who work
for and with children. The Policy
reaffirms the governments
commitment to the realisation of the
rights of all children in the country.
It recognizes every person below
the age of eighteen years as a child
and that childhood is an integral part
of life with a value of its own, and a
long term, sustainable, multi-
sectoral, integrated and inclusive
approach is necessary for the
harmonious development and
protection of children. The policy
lays down the guiding principles
that must be respected by national,
state and local governments in their
actions and initiatives affecting
children. Some of the key guiding
principles are: the right of every
child to life, survival, development,
education, protection and
participation; equal rights for all
children without discrimination; the
best interest of the child as a primary
concern in all actions and decisions
affecting children; and family
environment as the most conducive
for all-round development of
children. The policy has identified
survival, health, nutrition, education,
development, protection and
participation as the undeniable
rights of every child, and has also
declared these as key priority
areas. As childrens needs are multi-
sectoral, interconnected and require
collective action, the policy aims at
purposeful convergence and strong
coordination across different
sectors and levels of governance;
active engagement and partnerships
with all stakeholders; setting up of
a comprehensive and reliable
knowledge base; provision of
adequate resources; and
sensitization and capacity
development of all those who work
for and with children. A National
Plan of Action will be developed to
give effect to the policy and a
National Coordination and Action
Group (NCAG) will be constituted
to monitor the progress of
implementation. Similar plans and
coordination and action groups will
be constituted at the state and
district levels. The National
Commission for Protection of Child
Rights and State Commissions for
Protection of Child Rights are to
ensure that the principles of the
policy are respected in all sectors
at all levels. There is a provision for
review of the policy every five years.
The Ministry of Women and Child
Development will be the nodal
ministry for overseeing and
coordinating the implementation of
the policy and will lead the review
process.
The Ministry of Women and
Child Development on 26 July 2012
drafted the National Policy for
Children 2012. The revised draft
policy reaffirms the governments
commitment towards children and
addresses new challenges, seeking
to realize the full potential of
childrens rights throughout the
country. It defines a child as a
person below eighteen years of age,
and acknowledges the inalienable
and inherent rights of the child and
aims to realize the full range of child
rights for all children in the country.
The draft has stated that every child
has a right to be safeguarded against
hunger, deprivation and
malnutrition. According to the draft
policy, the state is bound to secure
the rights and entitlement of
children in difficult circumstances
such as migration, displacement,
disasters and communal violence.
The first National Policy on
Children was formulated in 1974.
The first policy of 1974 described
children as a supremely important
asset and made the state
responsible for providing equal
opportunities for growth and
development of all children. The
policy primarily focused on health
and education of the children. The
National Policy for Children (NPC),
1974 was adopted by the
Government of India on 22 Aug
1974. This policy describes children
as a supremely important asset of
the nation and makes the State
responsible to provide basic
services to children both before and
after birth, and also during their
growing years and different stages
of development. The recognition of
the child as a person with inherent
and inalienable rights, made it
necessary to revise the 1974 policy
for introducing rights-based
perspectives to child development
and protection. Thus, the Ministry of
Women and Child Development in
India has taken up the framing of a
revised National Policy for Children
which aims to cover the full range
of child rights.
Features of Features of Features of Features of Features of
The National Policy for Children The National Policy for Children The National Policy for Children The National Policy for Children The National Policy for Children
The Women and Child
Development (WCD) ministry, has
revised the National Policy for
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Children for the first time since it
was adopted in 1974.
defines any individual below
the age of 18 years as child,
the policy would guide and
inform all laws, policies, plans
and programmes affecting
children and all other actions
of national, state and local
Governments in relation to
population below 18 years.
As per the policy , every child
has a right to be safeguarded
against hunger, deprivation
and mal nutri ti on and the
State would commit to
securing this right through
access, provision and
promotion of required
services and supports for
holistic nurturing.
The State shall also take all
necessary measures to
improve maternal health
care secure the right of the
girl child and address
discrimination of all forms in
schools and foster equal
opportunity.
As per the policy, the state
would take special protection
measures to secure the rights
and entitlements of children in
difficult circumstances, in
particular but not limited to,
children affected by
migration, displacement,
communal or sectarian
violence, civil unrest, disasters
etc.
Children of women in
prostitution, children forced
into prostitution and other
abused and exploited
children, those affected by
HIV/AIDS, chi l dren wi th
disabilities would also be
eligible for state protection by
the state.
The policy has identified the
following as the universal,
inalienable and undeniable rights of
every child, and has also declared
these as key priority areas:
Survival,
Health,
Nutrition,
Development,
Education,
Protection and
Participation
Nodal Agencies Nodal Agencies Nodal Agencies Nodal Agencies Nodal Agencies
The Ministry of Women and The Ministry of Women and The Ministry of Women and The Ministry of Women and The Ministry of Women and
Chi l d devel opment Chi l d devel opment Chi l d devel opment Chi l d devel opment Chi l d devel opment
(MWCD) (MWCD) (MWCD) (MWCD) (MWCD) will be the nodal
Ministry for overseeing and
coordinating the
implementation of this Policy.
A National Coordination and National Coordination and National Coordination and National Coordination and National Coordination and
Action Group (NCAG) Action Group (NCAG) Action Group (NCAG) Action Group (NCAG) Action Group (NCAG) f or
Chi l dren wi l l moni tor
progress and ensure that the
principles of this Policy are
respected in all sectors at all
levels in formulating laws,
policies and programmes
affecting children.
Plans of Action at the national Plans of Action at the national Plans of Action at the national Plans of Action at the national Plans of Action at the national
and state level and state level and state level and state level and state level will facilitate
action on the provisions of this
Pol i cy. The NCAG wi l l
monitor the progress of
implementation under these
Plans.
Area of Concerns Area of Concerns Area of Concerns Area of Concerns Area of Concerns
The policy does not mention
how it will ensure child
participation at various levels
of governance.
Neither operational guidelines
to pursue the policy nor
institutional mechanisms in
terms of making various
ministries responsible are
mentioned in the policy.
No goal and / or target with
regard to the Educational,
Health, Nutrition and
Protection rights of children is
mentioned in the policy
document.
The policy does not make
clear commitments on
budgets of various ministries,
nor protection of existing
special entitlements to
disadvantaged and vulnerable
children.
Viresh Prasad Viresh Prasad Viresh Prasad Viresh Prasad Viresh Prasad
MCQ Series
India and China: Different Game Plans for Securing Energy India and China: Different Game Plans for Securing Energy India and China: Different Game Plans for Securing Energy India and China: Different Game Plans for Securing Energy India and China: Different Game Plans for Securing Energy
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India and China: Different Game Plans for Securing Energy
The much hyped energy
rivalry between India and China has
seemingly played a part in the new
great game in Central Asia. Popular
media laments Indias sluggishness
in following Chinas footsteps.
However, upon closer examination,
the two countries arent quite
playing the same game; their
motivations and limitations with
regard to Central Asia are different,
a fact that is often ignored in surface
comparisons.
China began to take serious
notice of Central Asia in the late
1990s, following a series of critical
events. Losing energy self-
sufficiency and becoming a net oil
importer in1993, the Taiwan Strait
crisis and South China Sea disputes
with the Philippines in 1995-6, all
heightened Chinese insecurity about
relying on US-controlled oil sources
and supply routes. Additionally,
domestic security was threatened as
Uyghur separatist movements were
rising in Central Asia and spilling
over into China. Not only could the
large untapped energy reserves in
Central Asia be transported directly
over land borders through pipelines,
China could take advantage of
American and Russian
inattentiveness to influence Central
Asia. India does not share Chinas
insecurity of energy sources or
supply routes being under US
influence. Thus, the drive to own
energy resources is not as acute. As
long as oil reaches the market, it will
be available to India. If India is keen
on owning assets, it is to limit
Chinese control over energy or for
lower prices. Unlike China, India
also didnt have major security
concerns from Central Asia, making
it unnecessary to entrench itself into
the region long-term for stability.
However, this security calculus has
changed recently, with terrorist
bases spreading to Tajikistan after
the Afghanistan war.
India also faces some major
limitations compared to the Chinese
advantage in Central Asia. The most
serious limitation is connectivity.
While China shares close to 3000 km
in land boundaries with Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyztan, India has absolutely
none. Land connectivity can only be
created by traversing through
Pakistan and Afghanistan, both
unstable and dangerous. Thus,
direct bilateral pipelines and
extensive land based trade, which
are the hallmark of Chinese
involvement, are not really an option
for India. Central Asia remains
landlocked and thus, sea links are
also limited through Russia, Iran,
or China. While the Iranian option
was most favorable to India, heavy
Western sanctions have made
businesses weary of trading through
this route.China entered Central
Asias energy markets in 1997, when
China National Petroleum
Corporation (CNPC) acquired a
60.3% stake in Kazakhstans Aktobe
Munai Gas, gaining access to three
oilfields and an exploration block.
By contrast, Indias first acquisition
was only in 2011 and much smaller
a 25% stake in a single oil bloc,
the Satpayev. Interestingly, CNPC
was bidding against established oil
majors; the company not only
cleanly outbid every rival, it also
paid the cash strapped Kazakh
government a generous bonus
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upfront and conducted feasibility
studies on a pipeline to Xinjiang,
offering the Kazakhs a non-Russian
export line. This combination of
Chinas deep pockets, technological
expertise in exploration and
infrastructure and commitment to
the region has eased the path to a
rapid and impressive range of
acquisitions and partnerships. China
followed a two pronged strategy to
building energy security in Central
Asia. First, China acquired energy
assets both oil blocs as well as oil
companies. Second, China used its
technological prowess to get
entrenched in the energy
infrastructure and industry in the
region, thus, creating
interdependence between China
and Central Asia, whether by
building pipelines or setting up
petrochemical plants.
India has also made some
progress in energy. Political
maneuvering is under way to get
India acquisition of a second oil bloc
in Kazakhstans massive Kashagan
oilfield. Thought a pipe dream for
almost two decades, the
Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-
India (TAPI) pipeline took solid
shape in May 2012, with the signing
of gas sale and pricing agreements.
Several geopolitical factors enabled
the signing Americas solid
support, given the desire to counter
Iranian, Russian and Chinese
influences and the New Silk Route
Strategy for Afghanistan; Pakistans
crippling energy and economic
crisis; Indias need for cheap
alternatives to LNG and
Turkmenistans search for steady
buyers for its gas. However, a
consortium of companies is yet to
be found to finance, build and
manage the pipeline. Given the
insecure environments and difficult
terrain of Afghanistan and Pakistan,
this is proving more than difficult.
Another initiative is the currently
touted ONGC bid to buy
ConocoPhillips 8.4% stake in the
Kashagan oil field. Money and
cultural leverage are two other major
limitations on India vis--vis China.
In terms of economic leverage, India
lags behind China in aid, trade as
well as purchasing power of oil
companies. Indian trade with
Central Asia stands at a meager USD
500 million, compared to the USD
29 billion of China, Central Asias
largest trading partner. Indian aid is
miniscule at USD 5.4 million
compares to the hundreds of
millions given by the Chinese.
Majority of Chinese
acquisitions in Central Asia have
been financed by Chinese oil
majors themselves, who are flush
with profits, compared to
periodically declining profits at
Indias ONGC. Culturally, China has
a large Uyghur population with deep
ties to Central Asia. Chinas growth
story has also branded it favorably
in the minds of Central Asias
leaders. The Indian Mughal dynasty
may have originated in Central Asia
but this does not feature heavily on
either the Indian or Central Asian
psyche. At a Track-II dialogue in
New Delhi in 2012, the Kazakh
Ambassador spoke repeatedly of
the need to create an attractiveness
for India in the Central Asian mind.
The constraints on India
warrant quite a different approach
from the one being employed by
China. Promisingly, an intelligent
strategy is slowly developing which
is focused on building economic
and cultural leverage. It should
translate into greater energy gains
for India in the future. Indias ties
with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and
Tajikistan have been upgraded to
the level of strategic partnerships.
In June 2012, the Indian Ministry of
External Affairs (MEA) launched a
revamped Connect Central Asia
policy, largely a soft power
offensive, focused on increasing
connectivity with Central Asia and
rebranding India in the Central Asian
psyche. Innovatively, the MEA has
focused on air connectivity to
increase trade and people-to-
people exchanges, by opening up
14 flights per week to operate to
Central Asia countries. As for
rebranding India, the MEA has taken
a path of IT diplomacy and
launched flagship projects to
highlight Indias technological
prowess in the region setting up
an E-Network connecting the
entire region to deliver e-education
and telemedicine, as well as IT
training centers and universities.
Indias focus is to build a
development partnership in the
region, not focused on extracting
resources but on developing human
capital. While a clever long-term
strategy that might later translate
into bigger gains in trade and
energy, its effectiveness remains to
be seen.
Tanvi Ratna Tanvi Ratna Tanvi Ratna Tanvi Ratna Tanvi Ratna
MCQ Series
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India Backbone Implementation Network
India has many popular
movements uniting citizens against
what they do not want: of which
corruption is a principal element.
The country also needs movements
to unite citizens for what they want
in their habitats and their lives, and
to enable them to work together to
create it. The nascent IBIN is a
movement for co-creating our
worlds.
India is a country with no full
stops, Mark Tully observed. And in
India, no decision is final, the
finance minister lamented at the
Planning Commissions meeting to
approve the 12th Plan. During the
Planning Commissions
consultations with stakeholders for
preparing the Plan, citizens had said
they were fed up with foundation
stones strewn across the country by
political leaders yearning for the
limelight. They want more finishing
stones. The sputtering of Indias
economic growth rate has rung
alarm bells for economists and
rating agencies. India must attract
more private investments in
infrastructure and industry. Though
attracted by the potential of Indias
market, investors are turned off by
the difficulties of getting things done
in the country. Projects are stuck in
tardy processes of approval and
snarled in inter-departmental
wrangles.
Consequently, India remains
towards the bottom of evaluations
of countries for ease-of-doing
business. The FM has urged Indian
PSUs, who have large balance
sheets, to get on with capital
investments to kick-start revival of
the economy. The chiefs of Indias
PSUs say they have intentions to
invest but cannot implement them.
Recently, they met the PM and
explained their difficulties. Their
projects are stuck in ministerial red
tape at the Centre and lost within
jungles of uncoordinated processes
in the states. Very poor coordination
amongst agencies, poor
implementation and leaky delivery
systems are also the root causes of
the unsatisfactory state of Indias
health, education and other public
services.
There is a widespread need in
India to convert confusion into
coordination, contention into
collaboration, and intention into
implementation. Easier said than
done, many say. It is our culture to
be argumentative, they explain. And
democracy makes it difficult to get
people to work together, they add.
If only we had a dictator for a
decade to get growth going and
then we can get back to democracy,
some wistfully dream. Of course,
they have no solution for how a
widely-accepted dictator will
quickly and peacefully emerge!
There has to be a democratic
alternative to dictatorship for
discipline. In a highly diverse as well
as democratic country, such as
India, consensus is required for all
stakeholders to move together,
forward and faster. This consensus
cannot be commanded.
We need another mechanism
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India Backbone Implementation Network India Backbone Implementation Network India Backbone Implementation Network India Backbone Implementation Network India Backbone Implementation Network
specifically designed to bring
people with different perspectives
together: to listen to one another, to
distil the essence of their shared
aspiration for their habitation or
their organisation, and adopt the
critical principles they will adhere
to in the work they must do together.
A model of a process for rapidly
improving a nations capabilities to
get things done systematically and
democratically is available in the
Total Quality Movement (TQM) in
Japan. In less than two decades,
Japan, that had a reputation for poor
quality and low-cost products,
became the international
benchmark of quality in many
industries and several of its public
services too.
IBIN has been modeled on the
very successful Total Quality
Movement in Japan which in the
1960s and 70s transformed the
capability of Japanese organizations
in the private and public sectors to
deliver results. The TQM movement
provided to teams within
organizations, and to inter-
organization teams, techniques and
tools with which they could make
rapid improvements of processes
thereby transforming Japan into the
hallmark of quality internationally.
The Planning Commission has
studied best practices for
coordination and implementation in
other countries also, such as Korea,
Malaysia, Brazil, and Germany.
The architecture of IBIN is
along similar lines as the TQM
movement of Japan. Experience of
other countries, such as South Korea
and, more recently, Malaysia, which
have systematically improved
capabilities of coordination and
implementation, has also been
considered while developing IBIN
to fit Indias conditions. The tools
and techniques that will be
deployed by the IBIN movement
will be in some respects similar to
TQM, but updated and customised
for the objectives of IBIN, with its
emphasis on techniques and tools
for collaboration, coordination and
implementation. They are described
in the 12th Plan document now
awaiting the approval of the
National Development Council. Like
TQM in Japan, it will be formed by
a network of many leaders across
the country, in the states and in
many sectors. Critics say the change
IBIN seeks will take a long time, and
so it may. But if we had started such
a movement, say, 10 years ago, we
would have been in a much better
place now. Therefore, the sooner
and more vigorously we start now,
the faster we will shape the future
we want. This is a time to lead and
to act. If not this, then what? If not
us, then who? If not now, then
when?
The essence of the TQM
movement was the deployment, at
several levels in many organisations:
especially the shopfloor levels, but
higher levels also, even to top
management, of simple techniques
for systems thinking, cooperative
action and continuous
improvement. These techniques
were developed by experts in
companies and universities and
disseminated in the country through
industry and other institutional
networks, and through radio,
pamphlets, competitions and other
means of connecting with the
public.
The movement grew as a
network: it was not a centrally-
managed government programme.
There was a principal node in the
network: a non-governmental body,
the Japanese Union of Scientists and
Engineers (Juse), in which many
persons from industry and
academia, and also government
participated to provide a facilitative
leadership to the movement. Within
the 12th Plan is the description of a
similar transformative process to
improve capabilities in the country
to get things done. This process,
described as the India Backbone
Implementation Network, or IBIN,
can improve results in many sectors
of the economy.
The purpose of IBIN is to
improve implementation of policies,
programs, and projects, which the
12th Five Year Plan has located as
the critical necessity for accelerating
more inclusive and faster growth. An
analysis of projects and schemes
has revealed that the major causes
of bottlenecks in implementation
are contention amongst
stakeholders, and poor coordination
amongst agencies. These
bottlenecks are at many levels in the
system, at the center, in the states,
and in districts and cities too. They
cannot be relieved top down by the
Planning Commission. They require
collaborative action by stakeholders
and agencies at multiple points.
The IBIN movement will
disseminate techniques and skills
for collaboration, coordination, and
better planning through a network
of agencies in the country. The
partners in the expanding network
already include more than two
dozen institutions such as the
Administrative Staff College of India,
the Indian School of Business,
SEWA, WISCOMP, UNDP, GIZ, the
World Bank, FISME and other
business associations. The functions
of a node will be to bring together
providers of the skills and
techniques and the agencies that
need them, and to continuously
distil good practices and
disseminate them widely.
R K Seth R K Seth R K Seth R K Seth R K Seth
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National Issues National Issues National Issues National Issues National Issues
DBT Scheme to be Expanded DBT Scheme to be Expanded DBT Scheme to be Expanded DBT Scheme to be Expanded DBT Scheme to be Expanded
The National Committee on National Committee on National Committee on National Committee on National Committee on
DBT DBT DBT DBT DBT chaired by the Prime Minister
of India, Manmohan Singh met on 5
April 2013 and approved expansion
of the Direct Benefits Transfers
(DBT) to 78 more districts and have
introduced 3 more Pension
Schemes under DBT. With this
approval DBT will now cover 1/5th
of the Country. The next phase of
the scheme will begin from 1 July
2013 and take the number of
districts covered under the scheme
to 121. States like Uttar Pradesh,
Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Gujarat,
Bihar, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal,
which were not covered in the first
phase of the scheme, are also
National Issues
all the covered districts. DBT
for pension schemes would
be introduced from 1 July
2013 along with the rollout of
Phase-II.
Expansion to Post Offices Expansion to Post Offices Expansion to Post Offices Expansion to Post Offices Expansion to Post Offices:
The Scheme would be
expanded to Post Offices as
well as the schemes run
through their accounts from 1
October 2013 by which the
plan of introducing the core
banking system to the post
offices will be completed in
51 districts.
Nati onwi de Database Nati onwi de Database Nati onwi de Database Nati onwi de Database Nati onwi de Database
digitisation digitisation digitisation digitisation digitisation: The process of
digitisation in all districts will
be started
National Optical Fibre Network National Optical Fibre Network National Optical Fibre Network National Optical Fibre Network National Optical Fibre Network
Creation in Gram Panchayats Creation in Gram Panchayats Creation in Gram Panchayats Creation in Gram Panchayats Creation in Gram Panchayats
The Government of India
approved the project for creation of
National Optical Fibre Network
(NOFN) connecting all the 250000
Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the
country through Optical Cable
(OFC). The Union Government
decided to fund the project through
covered under phase II. In the same
meeting the committee took a
decision to rollout direct benefit
transfer of LPG subsidy in a phased
manner beginning it with one
district and expanding to 20 districts
by 15 May 2013. Old age, disability
and widows Pension Schemes that
is managed by the Ministry or Rural
Development was also added to the
26 Welfare Schemes under the DBT
and will come into force from 1 July
2013. Creation of a DBT Mission
Directorate for enabling smooth
rollout of schemes, identification of
bottlenecks and handholding of the
departments and ministries was also
announced in the meet. The Prime
Minister has approved creation of a
post of Mission Director for DBT.
More Decisions made in the More Decisions made in the More Decisions made in the More Decisions made in the More Decisions made in the
Meeting Meeting Meeting Meeting Meeting
Addi ti onal Schemes Addi ti onal Schemes Addi ti onal Schemes Addi ti onal Schemes Addi ti onal Schemes
proposed and Approved proposed and Approved proposed and Approved proposed and Approved proposed and Approved:
DBT now covers 26 schemes.
The three Pension Schemes
managed by MoRD (old age,
disability and widows) will
now be covered under DBT in
http://upscportal.com 11 11 11 11 11 http://www.civilservicesmentor.com
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Universal Service Obligation Fund
(USOF).
The State Government on the
other hand, will have the role of
providing free Right of Way (RoW)
for laying OFC. The project
envisaged signing a tripartite MoU
for free Right of Way (RoW) among
the Union Government, State
Government and Bharat Broadband
Network Limited (BBNL). 16 States/
UTs signed the MoUs on 26 October
2012. These states and UTs were
Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand,
Karnataka, Manipur, Mizoram,
Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh,
Uttarakhand and 3 Union Territories
viz. Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman &
Diu and Puducherry. Under the
MoUs, 140727 GPs will be facilitated
with Optical Fibre Network in these
States and UTs. Tripartite MoU were
signed in the presence of Union
Minister of Communications & IT
with other 10 states and UTs on 12
April 2013.
These states and UTs were
Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal
Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir,
Maharashtra, Nagaland, Odisha,
Punjab and Andaman & Nicobar
Islands. In these states and UTs,
overall 85731 GPs will get covered
by Optical Fibre Network. BBNL
will start the work in these states and
UTs taking OFC to Gram Panchayats.
With the availability of NOFN at
250000 Gram Panchayats a
minimum bandwidth of 100 Mbps
will be available at each of GP and
will lead to proliferation of
broadband services. NOFN project
will take the technology to grass root
level and open new opportunity for
the benefit of masses.
Regulatory Body to Regulatory Body to Regulatory Body to Regulatory Body to Regulatory Body to
Control Electronic Media Control Electronic Media Control Electronic Media Control Electronic Media Control Electronic Media
The High Court of Delhi on 9
April 2013 recommended the Union
Government of India to constitute a
Statutory Regulatory Body to control
Electronic Media. The High Court
Bench of Delhi led by Justice
Pradeep Nandarajog rejected the
idea of self-regulation of the
broadcasters. The Court in its
judgment ruled that state
intervention is necessary to promote
the media environment that is
characterized by pluralism and
diversity.
The High Court bench added
that a regulatory body was required
for ensuring compliance of the
provisions mentioned under the
Cable Television Networks
(Regulation) Act 1995 and the Cable
Television Network Rules, 1994 by
the media organizations. The court
in its recommendation said that a
statutory regulatory body that
consists of men and women of
eminence from field of law, science,
art and culture, literature, history
and social sciences to be
constituted. Security of tenure
needs to be brought into practice
for the members of the regulatory
body to ensure non-interference
from the government. The Court
appointed self-regulatory body of
the Indian Broadcasting Foundation
Broadcasting Consumers
Complaint Committee as the
regulatory body to look into the
complaints of violation of program
and advertising codes and other
provisions by the media and give its
ruling, until as statutory body is
constituted by the Union
Government. The court also ruled
that the decisions of the
Broadcasting Consumers Complaint
Committee shall be treated as the
foundation stone for taking
appropriate action against the
offenders.
NUHM Formulated as a Sub- NUHM Formulated as a Sub- NUHM Formulated as a Sub- NUHM Formulated as a Sub- NUHM Formulated as a Sub-
Mission under National Health Mission under National Health Mission under National Health Mission under National Health Mission under National Health
Mission (NHM) Mission (NHM) Mission (NHM) Mission (NHM) Mission (NHM)
The Ministry of Health & Family
Welfare in April 2013 formulated
National Urban Health Mission
(NUHM) as a Sub-Mission under
National Health Mission (NHM)
which is supposed to be launched
during the 12th Five Year Plan. The
basic purpose to launch National
Urban Health Mission (NUHM) is to
address healthcare needs of urban
population, particularly urban poor.
It is important here to note that
launch National Urban Health
Mission was a listed scheme under
11th Five Year Plan with an
approved outlay of 4500 crores
Rupees and Expenditure Finance
Committee (EFC) also approved the
scheme in its meeting held on 12
September2008. Conversely the
scheme could not be launched.
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Aim and Objectives of the Aim and Objectives of the Aim and Objectives of the Aim and Objectives of the Aim and Objectives of the
National Urban Health Mission National Urban Health Mission National Urban Health Mission National Urban Health Mission National Urban Health Mission
National Urban Health Mission
is directed towards improving
the health status of the urban
population particularly slum
dwellers and other vulnerable
sections by facilitating
equitable access to quality
healthcare with the active
involvement of the urban local
bodies (ULBs).
The National Urban Health
Mission is intended to cover
779 cities and town including
7 metros with population of
fifty thousand and above.
An amount of15143 crores
rupees has been approved for
the 12th Five Year Plan 2012-
17by the Planning
Commission whereas the
Ministry proposed 16955
crore rupees for NUHM during
12th FYP. However for the year
2013-14 approved outlay for
NUHM is 1.00 crore only.
New Plastic Voter New Plastic Voter New Plastic Voter New Plastic Voter New Plastic Voter
Identity Cards to be issued Identity Cards to be issued Identity Cards to be issued Identity Cards to be issued Identity Cards to be issued
Election Commission of India
on 17 April 2013 announced that it
is planning to come up with a driving
license like-hard plastic voter ID
cards and replace the long existing
laminated voter identity cards. The
Deputy Election Commissioner,
Alok Shukla made that
announcement at New Delhi that
new voter cards with colour photos
would be first issued in North-
Eastern States, Assam and
Nagaland.
The Election commission will
charge a fee of 50 Rupees from the
people who want their ID Cards to
be converted into the Plastic Cards.
The choice of getting the Voter
Cards converted into the hard
plastic cards will completely
depend upon the voters will.
Plea Dismissed for Bhullars Plea Dismissed for Bhullars Plea Dismissed for Bhullars Plea Dismissed for Bhullars Plea Dismissed for Bhullars
Death Commutation Death Commutation Death Commutation Death Commutation Death Commutation
The Supreme Court of India on
12 April 2013 dismissed the plea of
Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar the
terrorist of Khalistan Liberation
Force to dismiss the death penalty
and shift it to life imprisonment.
Bhullar faced the sentence of Death
from the Supreme Court for
triggering a bomb blast in Delhi in
1993, in which 9 people were killed
leaving behind 17 injured. The
Supreme Court was hearing the
petition submitted by the Bhullar in
which he demanded commutation
of the death penalty due to long
delay in the decision of the
President on his mercy petition. His
mercy petition was in row in the
Presidents office for eight years,
before the President rejected it in
the year 2011. The Supreme Court
Bench of two Judges that
comprised Justice G.S. Singhvi and
S.J. Mukhopadhya in its rule
declared that the long delay by the
President or Governor in disposing
the mercy petition of person
convicted under anti-terror laws or
similar statutes cannot be a ground
for commutation of death sentence.
The Supreme Courts decision has
cleared the way for execution of
Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar.
Decision to Double the Number Decision to Double the Number Decision to Double the Number Decision to Double the Number Decision to Double the Number
of Judges in next 5 years of Judges in next 5 years of Judges in next 5 years of Judges in next 5 years of Judges in next 5 years
The Union Government of
India decided to double the number
of sanctioned judges in India in next
five years to ensure speedy disposal
of cases. With this increase in the
number of judges is expected to
reach to a mark of 37000 in next five
years.
The Chief Justice of India
Altamas Kabir and Law Minister
Ashwani Kumar on 7 April 2013
during the release of comprehensive
agenda for legal and judicial reforms
announced that the Union
Government of India approved the
decision of increasing the judge
population ratio from 15.47 per
million to 30 per million. The
comprehensive agenda was
released at the conference of Chief
Justices of High Courts and Chief
Ministers. Increase in the number
of fast track courts for trial of
heinous crimes like offences against
elderly, women and children is also
under the plan of the central
government.
The funds for development of
the infrastructure would be released
under a centrally sponsored scheme
on 75:25 basis. At present there are
906 judges in the High Courts of
India and is to be increased by 25
percent in next three years and 50
percent over a period of five years.
To deal with small and petty crimes
a committee will be constituted by
the Government.
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CCEA approved 12000 Crore CCEA approved 12000 Crore CCEA approved 12000 Crore CCEA approved 12000 Crore CCEA approved 12000 Crore
Rupees Special Plan for Bihar Rupees Special Plan for Bihar Rupees Special Plan for Bihar Rupees Special Plan for Bihar Rupees Special Plan for Bihar
The Cabinet Committee on Cabinet Committee on Cabinet Committee on Cabinet Committee on Cabinet Committee on
Economic Affairs (CCEA Economic Affairs (CCEA Economic Affairs (CCEA Economic Affairs (CCEA Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 18
April 2013 approved to continue the
special plan for Bihar in the
remaining four years of the 12th Five
Year Plan. The CCEA approved a
total allocation of 12000 crore
rupees for the entire plan period.
The Package was approved for Bihar
under Backward Region Grant Fund
(BRGF) State Component. On the
same occasion the CCEA also gave
its approval to continue the special
plan in Odisha and Uttar Pradesh
respectively.
The regions for which the The regions for which the The regions for which the The regions for which the The regions for which the
approval was made for the two approval was made for the two approval was made for the two approval was made for the two approval was made for the two
states are: states are: states are: states are: states are:
The Plans were approved for
t he KBK districts (Kalahandi- KBK districts (Kalahandi- KBK districts (Kalahandi- KBK districts (Kalahandi- KBK districts (Kalahandi-
Bolangir-Koraput) Bolangir-Koraput) Bolangir-Koraput) Bolangir-Koraput) Bolangir-Koraput) of Odisha.
The CCEA made an allocation
of 250 crore rupees per annum
in the remaining four years
2013-14 to 2016-17 of the
Twelfth Five Year Plan
For implementation of the
drought mitigation strategies
in Bundelkhand region of Uttar
Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh
for the remaining four years
2013-14 to 2016-17 of the
Twelfth Five Year Plan the
special package was
approved by the CCEA. A total
allocation of 4400 crore
rupees for the entire Twelfth
Five Year Plan period was
approved by the CCEA.
Background of Backward
Region Grant Fund (BRGF)
The BRGF, aims towards
catalyzing the development
programs in the backward areas. It
was approved by the CCEA in
August 2006. In its present form, the
BRGF has two components, namely
district component covering 272
backward districts in 27 states
(including 22 additional districts
covered in 2012-13) and state
component, which includes the
special plan for Bihar, the special
plan for the KBK districts of Odisha
and the special plan for West Bengal
(covered in 2011-12) and
Bundelkhand Package (covered in
2009-10).
Ministry of I&B Reconstituted the Ministry of I&B Reconstituted the Ministry of I&B Reconstituted the Ministry of I&B Reconstituted the Ministry of I&B Reconstituted the
Central Press Accreditation Central Press Accreditation Central Press Accreditation Central Press Accreditation Central Press Accreditation
Committee Committee Committee Committee Committee
The Ministry of Information &
Broadcasting reconstituted the
Central Press Accreditation
Committee (CPAC) on 4 April 2013.
The function of CPAC is to approve
the applications for accreditation
from the media, which is India as
well as foreign.
Members of Central Press Members of Central Press Members of Central Press Members of Central Press Members of Central Press
Accreditation Committee Accreditation Committee Accreditation Committee Accreditation Committee Accreditation Committee
Members of Central Press
Accreditation Committee include:
Himanshu Chatterjee (Indian
Federation of Working
Journalists)
B.M.Sharma (All India Small
and Medium Newspapers
Federation)
Pramod Mathur (Working
News Cameramen s
Association)
Surinder Kapoor (News
Cameramens Association)
Coomi Kapoor (Editors Guild
of India)
Shazi Zaman(Indian
Broadcasting Foundation)
Swaraj Thapa (Press
Association)
Manoranjan Bharati (News
Broadcasters Association)
Supriya Prasad (Broadcast
Editors Association)
Mangipudi Aruna (Association
of Small and Medium
Newspapers of India)
Thyagaraja (Indian Federation
of Small and Medium
Newspapers)
Geetartha Pathak (Indian
Journalists Union)
Jagdish Yadav (Association of
Accredited News
Cameraman)
Padmadhar Pati Tripathi (All
India Journalists Welfare
Association)
Radhey Sham Sharma (All
India Newspaper Editors
Conference)
Subhash Nigam (National
Union of Journalists)
The tenure of Central Press
Accreditation Committee will be
two years from the first meeting
onwards.
Novartis Patent Plea Rejected for Novartis Patent Plea Rejected for Novartis Patent Plea Rejected for Novartis Patent Plea Rejected for Novartis Patent Plea Rejected for
Cancer Drug Called Glivec Cancer Drug Called Glivec Cancer Drug Called Glivec Cancer Drug Called Glivec Cancer Drug Called Glivec
The Supreme Court of India on
1 April 2013 rejected the plea of
Novartis, the Swiss drug maker, to
patent the updated version of
cancer drug called Glivec. A bench
of justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana
Prakash Desai dismissed the patent
plea to Novartis on the basis that
there was no inventiveness or
novelty in the new version of the
drug. In its ruling, the Supreme
Court of India declared that because
the application for patent on beta-
crystalline salt did not meet any
inventiveness or novelty standard,
therefore the companys plea for
patent was dismissed. The
judgement implied that patents in
India would only be granted to
companies that were involved in
genuine inventions. Litigative
patenting would be dismissed.
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Glivec is used for the treatment of
chronic myeloid leukaemia along
with certain other kinds of cancers.
The cost of this drug is around 2600
US dollar per month. The generic of
Glivec is equivalent to 175 US dollar
in India.
Background
Novartis had filed a patent
application for the new version of
this drug in 2006. Comptroller
General of Patent and Design denied
the patent on the grounds that only
certain changes were made to its
existing drugs under sections 3(d)
and 3(b) of the Indian Patent
Law. Novartis then challenged this
rejection of patent application for
Glivec. Subsequently, the patent
application was also rejected by
Intellectual Property Appellate
Board. In 2009, Novartis took its fight
to the Supreme Court of India.
Section 3 (d) and 3 (b) of Indian Section 3 (d) and 3 (b) of Indian Section 3 (d) and 3 (b) of Indian Section 3 (d) and 3 (b) of Indian Section 3 (d) and 3 (b) of Indian
Patent Law explained Patent Law explained Patent Law explained Patent Law explained Patent Law explained
Section 3 (d) of Indian Patent
Law restricts the patents for
already-known drugs unless
and until there is superiority in
invention in terms of efficacy.
Section 3 (b) of Indian Patent
Law restricts patents for those
products which are against
the public interest, and also
do not show advanced value
over the products which
already exist.
Evergreening of Evergreening of Evergreening of Evergreening of Evergreening of
Patent Rights- An Issue Patent Rights- An Issue Patent Rights- An Issue Patent Rights- An Issue Patent Rights- An Issue
Evergreening of the patent
rights refers to the strategy adopted
by certain innovators for having
renewed their patent rights on the
products by incorporating only
minor changes. These minor
changes may include adding new
formulations or mixtures.
Evergreening is done by the
innovators when the patent is on the
verge of expiry. A victory in this
patent fight would have given
monopoly of Glivec to Novartis for
20 years.
National Policy for National Policy for National Policy for National Policy for National Policy for
Children-2012 Approved by the Children-2012 Approved by the Children-2012 Approved by the Children-2012 Approved by the Children-2012 Approved by the
Union Cabinet of India Union Cabinet of India Union Cabinet of India Union Cabinet of India Union Cabinet of India
The Union Cabinet of India on
18 April 2013 approved the National
Policy for Children, 2012. The policy
was approved to reaffirm the
commitment of the Government
towards the realization of the rights
of the Children in the Country as it
recognized that every person below
18 years in age as a child.
Guiding principles laid down by Guiding principles laid down by Guiding principles laid down by Guiding principles laid down by Guiding principles laid down by
the Policy includes the Policy includes the Policy includes the Policy includes the Policy includes
The right of every child to life,
survival, development,
education, protection and
participation;
Equal rights for all children
without discrimination;
The best interest of the child
as a primary concern in all
actions and decisions
affecting children
Family environment as the
most conducive for all-round
development of children
The set principles makes it
mandatory for Governments at all
levels, National, State and Local to
respect the children in all their
actions and initiatives that affects
them. The policy has identified
survival, nutrition, health,
development, education, protection
and participation as undeniable
rights of every child, and these have
been recognized as the key priority
areas.
For development of a child For development of a child For development of a child For development of a child For development of a child
multi-sectoral, interconnected and multi-sectoral, interconnected and multi-sectoral, interconnected and multi-sectoral, interconnected and multi-sectoral, interconnected and
collective effort is required to be collective effort is required to be collective effort is required to be collective effort is required to be collective effort is required to be
put forward and thus the Policy put forward and thus the Policy put forward and thus the Policy put forward and thus the Policy put forward and thus the Policy
aims at: aims at: aims at: aims at: aims at:
Purposeful convergence and
strong coordination across
different sectors and levels of
governance
Active engagement and
partnerships with all
stakeholders
Setting up of a comprehensive
and reliable knowledge base
Provision of adequate
resources
Sensitization and capacity
development of all those who
work for and with children
To give effect to the Policy the
Union Government has decided to
develop a National Plan of Action
and constitute a National
Coordination and Action Group
(NCAG) for fine monitoring of the
progress of implementation of the
plan. For monitoring and
implementation of the policy at state
and district level, same type of
action groups will be constituted by
the Government.
Responsibilities Given to
The National Commission for
Protection of Child Rights and State
Commissions for Protection of Child
Rights are made responsible to
ensure that the principles of the
policy are respected in all sectors
at all levels. The Government has
also created a provision of
reviewing the Policy after every five
years. The Ministry of Women and
Child Development will be the nodal
ministry for overseeing and
coordinating the implementation of
the policy and will lead the review
process.
A Surrogate Mother and Her A Surrogate Mother and Her A Surrogate Mother and Her A Surrogate Mother and Her A Surrogate Mother and Her
Husband Have No Right over Husband Have No Right over Husband Have No Right over Husband Have No Right over Husband Have No Right over
Child Child Child Child Child
A Delhi court on 11 April 2013
ruled that a surrogate mother and
her husband cannot have any right
over a child conceived and
delivered through artificial means.
The court ruled that definition of
term surrogacy in guidelines laid
down by Indian Council of Medical
Research itself recognizes that the
intended parents are parents
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genetically related to the child and
not the surrogate mother or her
husband.
Additional Senior Civil Judge
Sonu Agnihotris remarks came
while declaring a single woman
from the UK as the biological mother
of a boy delivered by an Indian
woman acting as a surrogate mother.
The court passed the order on a suit
initiated by the UK national who,
after having received the custody of
the child from the surrogate mother,
moved the court praying for a
decree declaring her as the
biological mother of baby boy to put
to rest her apprehension that in
future, the surrogate mother or her
husband might claim custody of the
boy.
Army to launch a New Scheme of Army to launch a New Scheme of Army to launch a New Scheme of Army to launch a New Scheme of Army to launch a New Scheme of
Old Age Homes for ex- Old Age Homes for ex- Old Age Homes for ex- Old Age Homes for ex- Old Age Homes for ex-
Servicemen Servicemen Servicemen Servicemen Servicemen
Bikram Singh, the Chief of
Army Staff on 7 April 2013
announced that the Army had
prepared a new scheme, under
which an old-age home will be
opened in every command. The
scheme is designed for providing a
home to elderly ex-servicemen, who
have no one to look after them
during their old age. At present, the
army is running an old age home on
experiment basis near Chandigarh in
Panchkula.
About the Scheme
Under the proposed scheme,
the ex-servicemen willing to avail
the services of the old-age homes
will have to pay for the same from
their pensions, as the services
offered under the scheme are not
free.
SOI filed compliant of violating
the Indian Policy Guidelines of
Mapping against Google
Delhi Police on 4 April 2013
launched an inquiry against the
Internet Giant Google over its
contest Mapathon 2013, following a
complaint received by the Survey of
India. The Mapathon contest was
conducted by Google in February-
March 2013. As per the compliant
from Survey of India (SOI), the
activity of Mapathon 2013 violated
the National Map Policy and likely
jeopardizes the national security
interest. The participants of the
contest, being unaware of the law
of the land would have violated the
law. A letter was also written to
Google Indias Office by the
Additional Surveyor-General of
India R.C. Padhi asking the internet
giant to stop its activity of map
uploading, as the activity is against
the Indian Policy Guidelines. Survey
of India is the only body that has
been provided, the power of
mapping and surveying the
nation. The Preamble of the
National Map Policy, 2005 states
that, the responsibility for
producing, maintaining and
disseminating the topographic map
database of the whole country,
which is the foundation of all spatial
data vests with the Survey of India.
Mapathon 2013 Contest Mapathon 2013 Contest Mapathon 2013 Contest Mapathon 2013 Contest Mapathon 2013 Contest
Mapathon 2013 was a contest
created by Google in which it asked
the Indian Citizens to map their
neighbourhood and send the same
to Google for being uploaded on the
search engines. Rewards to the 1000
best entries were also announced
by Google. The contest was
conducted from 12 February to 25
March 2013.
Terms and Conditions Mentioned
in the Mapathon 2013 Contest
The Mapathon 2013 clearly
mentioned in its terms and
conditions that the individuals
themselves were responsible for
their submissions and consequ-
ences that may arise after the maps
and content provided by them were
posted on the search engines. This
exercise of the individuals directly
lands the individuals into trouble for
violating the law of the land,
unknowingly if they map some
restricted areas that may hamper the
security of the nation.
DAC Approved Major Changes in DAC Approved Major Changes in DAC Approved Major Changes in DAC Approved Major Changes in DAC Approved Major Changes in
DPP to Encourage Indian DPP to Encourage Indian DPP to Encourage Indian DPP to Encourage Indian DPP to Encourage Indian
Defence Industry Defence Industry Defence Industry Defence Industry Defence Industry
The Defence Acquisition
Council (DAC), the apex decision
making body of the MoD, took a
series of decisions on 20 April 2013,
including amendments to Defence
Procurement Procedure (DPP) with
the objective of infusing greater
efficiency in the procurement
process and strengthening the
defence manufacturing base in
India.
Following are the highlights of Following are the highlights of Following are the highlights of Following are the highlights of Following are the highlights of
the amendments to the DPP-2011: the amendments to the DPP-2011: the amendments to the DPP-2011: the amendments to the DPP-2011: the amendments to the DPP-2011:
1. 1. 1. 1. 1. Prioritisation of Various
Categories for Capital
Acquisitions under Defence
Procurement Procedure
Preference for indigenous
procurement in the Defence
Production Policy 2011 has
now been made a part of DPP
through an amendment that
provides for a preferred order
of categorisation, with global
cases being a choice of last
resort.
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2. 2. 2. 2. 2. Release of Public Version of
Long Term Integrated
Perspective Plan (LTIPP)
The DAC has approved the
release of a public version of
its 15-year perspective
document (LTIPP), outlining
the Technology Perspective
and Capability Roadmap
(TPCR) against LTIPP 2012-
2027. The TPCR will provide
useful guidance to the Indian
Defence Industry for boosting
its infrastructural capabilities
and directing its R&D and
technology investments.
3. 3. 3. 3. 3. Maintenance ToT (MToT) no
longer through Nomination
MToT has been hitherto
reserved largely for OFB and
DPSUs through the
nomination process. A DPP
amendment has been
approved that does away with
nomination by Department of
Defence Production and
facilitates selection of MToT
partners by Indian bidders.
This measure is expected to
have a positive impact on
private sector participation in
maintenance, repairs and
overhaul work.
4. 4. 4. 4. 4. Simplification of Buy & Make
(Indian) Procedure
The DAC has approved an
amendment further
simplifying this complex
category. Its procedures have
been brought on par with
other categorisations,
resulting in faster processing
of cases under this category.
5. 5. 5. 5. 5. Clear Definition of Indigenous
Content
Increased indigenisation is
important for our Armed
Forces, in order that they have
access to reliable supply
chains in times of urgent need.
Indigenous content has now
been defined in an
unambiguous manner,
providing requisite clarity and
a common understanding.
8. 8. 8. 8. 8. Licensing for Dual Use Items
The Ministry has categorically
clarified to DIPP that dual-use
items will not require
licensing, thereby bringing
added clarity to the licensing
process.
9. 9. 9. 9. 9. Consultations on Security
Guidelines for Indian Defence
Industry
Draft Security Guidelines that
will apply to all licensed
defence industries have been
circulated for consultations
with various stakeholders. It is
expected that a complete
security framework for Indian
private industries
participating in defence cases
will be in place in the near
future.
10. 10. 10. 10. 10. Resolution of Tax-related
Issues
Resolution of deemed exports
status for certain defence
projects and rationalisation of
tax and duty structures
impinging on the Indian
defence industry has been
taken up by the MoD with the
Ministry of Finance.
11. 11. 11. 11. 11. Funds for MSMEs in the
Defence Sector
The Defence Production
Policy 2011 requires the
setting-up of a fund to provide
necessary resources for
development of defence
equipment. In order to ensure
regular supply of funds to
MSMEs involved in
manufacturing of defence
products, SIDBI has decided
to earmark an amount of 500
crore rupees for providing
loans, and further, a fund of
50 crore rupees for equity
support out of India
Opportunities Fund managed
by its subsidiary, namely,
SIDBI Venture Capital Ltd.
12. 12. 12. 12. 12. Efficiency and Transparency
in Defence Procurement
6. Ensuring faster progress in
Make and Buy & Make (Indian)
cases
The Ministry has a limited
number of acquisition cases
under Make and Buy & Make
(Indian) categories, with an
estimated value of 120000
crore rupees. Instructions
have been issued for speedier
conclusion of these cases.
7. 7. 7. 7. 7. Defence Items List
Indian defence industry was
opened up in May 2001 for 100
percent private sector
participation subject to
licensing. The Defence Items
List has been finalised by the
Ministry and sent to DIPP for
notification, which will bring
required clarity in the licensing
process.
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A stipulation to freeze the
SQRs before the Acceptance
of Necessity (AoN) stage has
been accorded, and the
validity of AoN has also been
reduced from two years to
one year. These measures are
expected to expedite the
acquisition process and
increase transparency.
13. 13. 13. 13. 13. Enhanced Delegation of
Financial Powers
The financial powers of
Service Chiefs/ DG Coast
Guard have been enhanced
from 50 crore rupees to 150
crore rupees for capital
acquisition cases.
14. 14. 14. 14. 14. Powers to DAC
Approval for all deviations
from the Defence
Procurement Procedure will
henceforth be sought from the
Defence Acquisition Council
instead of the Defence
Minister.
President of India Appointed two President of India Appointed two President of India Appointed two President of India Appointed two President of India Appointed two
Judges to the Supreme Court of Judges to the Supreme Court of Judges to the Supreme Court of Judges to the Supreme Court of Judges to the Supreme Court of
India India India India India
Chief Justices of High Courts
of Punjab and Haryana as well as
Madhya Pradesh, Justice Arjan
Kumar Sikri and Justice Sharad
Arvind Bobde respectively on 10
April 2013 were elevated as Judges
of Supreme Court, in order of their
seniority by the President of India.
The appointment of judges will
come into effect from the date they
assume charge of their respective
office. The President of India
exercised powers conferred to him
by Clause 2 of Article 124 of the
Constitution of India for
appointment of the judges.
Article 124: Establishment and
constitution of Supreme Court
Clause 2: Every Judge of the
Supreme Court shall be appointed
by the President by warrant under
his hand and seal after consultation
with such of the Judges of the
Supreme Court and of the High
Courts in the States as the President
may deem necessary for the
purpose and shall hold office until
he attains the age of sixty-five years.
Competition Commission of India Competition Commission of India Competition Commission of India Competition Commission of India Competition Commission of India
amended the Combination amended the Combination amended the Combination amended the Combination amended the Combination
Regulations Regulations Regulations Regulations Regulations
The Competition Commission
of India (CCI) amended the
Combination Regulations with a
view to further simplify the filing
requirements and bring about
greater certainty in the application
of the Act and the Regulations. The
provisions of the Competition Act,
2002 relating to regulation of
combinations have been in force
with effect from 1 June 2011. These
were subsequently amended on 23
February 2013 with a view to relax
certain requirements in regard to
filings by corporate entities for
combinations that are unlikely to
raise adverse competition
concerns.
The highlights of the major
changes in the Combination
Regulations are as following:
The Regulations now do not
require a notice to be filed for
acquisition of shares or voting
rights of companies if the
acquisition is less than five
percent of the shares or voting
rights of the company in a
financial year, where the
acquirer already holds more
than twenty five percent but
less than fifty percent of the
shares or voting rights of the
company.
In a step which would
significantly reduce
compliance requirements, the
provision for giving notice is
now dispensed for mergers/
amalgamations involving two
enterprises where one of the
enterprises has more than fifty
per cent (50%) shares or
voting rights of the other
enterprise. Similarly, the
requirement of giving notice is
also dispensed for merger or
amalgamation of enterprises
in which more than fifty per
cent (50%) shares or voting
rights in each of such
enterprises are held by
enterprise(s) within the same
group.
To provide clarification on the
nature of intra-group
acquisitions for which notice
has to be given, Item 8 of
Schedule I is amended to state
that the relaxation would not
apply where the acquired
enterprise is jointly controlled.
To avoid repetition and to
have one category of
exemption for acquisition of
certain current assets like
stock-in-trade, raw materials
etc., Item 5 and Item 9 of
Schedule I are clubbed and
provided as one category
under Item 5.
India Post to Establish Third India Post to Establish Third India Post to Establish Third India Post to Establish Third India Post to Establish Third
Automated Mail Processing Automated Mail Processing Automated Mail Processing Automated Mail Processing Automated Mail Processing
Centre in Hyderabad Centre in Hyderabad Centre in Hyderabad Centre in Hyderabad Centre in Hyderabad
India Post in the last week of
March 2013 decided to establish
third Automated Mail Processing
Centre in Hyderabad by April
2013. The Automated Mail
Processing Centre is the 60 crore
Rupees centre which will come up
near international airport at
Shamshabad. The centre will have
the capability to sort 30000 mails per
hour. This will bring down the
delivery time of the mails. The
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department will deliver 1.75 crore
letters, 2.7 lakhs of parcels as well
as 1.9 crore money orders per day.
Earlier, India Post had established
two Automated Mail Processing
Centres in Kolkata and Delhi.
Government launched IBIN for Government launched IBIN for Government launched IBIN for Government launched IBIN for Government launched IBIN for
Effective Implementation of its Effective Implementation of its Effective Implementation of its Effective Implementation of its Effective Implementation of its
Core Programme Core Programme Core Programme Core Programme Core Programme
The Planning Commission of
India on 19 April 2013 launched IBIN
(India Backbone Implementation
Network) for effective implantation
of its core programmes and policies.
IBIN will address the need to
improve implementation of policies
and programmes chartered out in
the 12th Five Year Plan as critical
necessity for accelerating more
inclusive and faster growth. IBIN will
help resolve the issues by
systematically converting -
Confusion to coordination,
contention to collaboration and
intentions to implementation across
India. In fact, Planning Commission
of India has introduced several
innovations in the 12th Plan
including the use of techniques of
scenario planning for the first time,
use of social media for
communications with youth, and the
concept of IBIN. The IBIN
movement will also disseminate
techniques and skills for
collaboration, coordination, and
better planning through a network
of agencies in the country.
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Iran began Production at Two Iran began Production at Two Iran began Production at Two Iran began Production at Two Iran began Production at Two
Uranium Mines and a Yellow Uranium Mines and a Yellow Uranium Mines and a Yellow Uranium Mines and a Yellow Uranium Mines and a Yellow
Cake Plant Cake Plant Cake Plant Cake Plant Cake Plant
Iran announced on 9 April 2013
that it has begun production at two
uranium mines and a yellow cake
plant. The announcement marked
the National Nuclear Technology
Day. The Saghand 1 and 2 uranium
mines in the central city of Yazd will
extract uranium from a depth of
about 350 yards while the Shahid
Rezaeinejad plant at Ardakan can
produce 60 tonnes of yellow cake
or the raw uranium. Iran declared
the plants open for production
despite western powers opposing
Irans nuclear program. The latest
two-day talks on Irans nuclear
programme held in Kazakhstan
International Issues
Ban Ki-Moon, the UN Secretary
General announced on 7 April 2013
to look into the allegations of both
sides of the conflict. Syria in March
2013 asked UN to investigate the use
of chemical weapons by the rebels
in the village of al-Assal.
Whereas, United Nations
declared that it wanted to
investigate all the reports related to
the use of chemical weapons in
Syria not only the one that the
government claimed to be used by
the rebels. Syria rejected the
proposal of UN because as per the
rules of the country granting an
access to the investigators from UN
to the whole country meant
violation of Syrian sovereignty but
was ready to grant access to Khan
ended without agreement in Tehran
on 6 April 2013. Iran stated in the
talks that it would not compromise
on its right to enrich uranium.
Multi-billion Dollar Plan for Multi-billion Dollar Plan for Multi-billion Dollar Plan for Multi-billion Dollar Plan for Multi-billion Dollar Plan for
Poverty Alleviation in Indian Poverty Alleviation in Indian Poverty Alleviation in Indian Poverty Alleviation in Indian Poverty Alleviation in Indian
States States States States States
The World Bank in the second
week of April 2013 announced a
multi-million dollar four-year plan
that is to be initiated in seven low-
income states of India to bring down
the poverty levels. The World
Banks Country Partnership Strategy
for India proposed to lend 3 billion
to 5 billion US dollars every year for
a period of next four years. The
recognized states are Chhattisgarh,
Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh,
Odisha, Rajasthan, and Uttar
Pradesh. The states have been
identified depending upon the
number of poors that live in these
states.
Syria rejected UN Proposal Syria rejected UN Proposal Syria rejected UN Proposal Syria rejected UN Proposal Syria rejected UN Proposal
Syria on 8 April 2013 rejected
the proposal of United Nations to
probe the reports of possible use of
Chemical Weapons in the country.
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International Issues International Issues International Issues International Issues International Issues
al-Assal where it had reported the
possible use of chemical weapons.
Cyber Information Sharing and Cyber Information Sharing and Cyber Information Sharing and Cyber Information Sharing and Cyber Information Sharing and
Protection Act Passed in US Protection Act Passed in US Protection Act Passed in US Protection Act Passed in US Protection Act Passed in US
The US House of
Representatives passed the Cyber
Information Sharing and Protection
Act, also called CISPA on 18 April
2013. The aim of CISPA is to fight
with the cyber threats, by enabling
the law enforcers to get access to
the web data. The CISPA was
passed by 288-127 vote out of which
92 were the Democrats. It will now
move to the Senate and then to
Obamas desk. The bill will enable
the private entities to share the
personal information of the
customers with any government
body, which also includes National
Security Agency. It is important to
note that this was the second time
that the US House of
Representatives passed the CISPA.
Senators had earlier rejected the
first draft of this bill on the grounds
that it wasnt providing enough for
protecting the privacy. The
American federal agencies had
warned that hackers motivated by
the money or acting as the part of
foreign governments were causing
a major threat to China. In the
meanwhile, CISPA is also supported
by the technology firms such as
TechNet computer industry lobby
group and CTIA wireless industry
group. The ones that oppose the bill
are Reddit and Facebook. The
CISPA could fail once again in the
Senate in case veto power of Obama
is used. The White House actually
wants certain amendments in the
bill so that just a little amount of data
is handed in the investigations.
Background of CISPA
The Cyber Intelligence Sharing
and Protection Act (CISPA) is
basically a proposed law in
US, according to which the
Internet traffic information can
be shared between certain
technology and manufacturing
companies as well as the US
government. The purpose of
this bill is to enable US
Government in investigating
the cyber threats as well as
making sure about the security
of networks against the cyber
stacks.
CISPA was first introduced in
the Senate on 30 November
2011 by the U.S.
Representative Michael
Rogers along with 111 co-
sponsors. It was passed by the
US House of Representatives
on 26 April 2012 but the US
Senate did not pass this bill.
The advisers of Obama
advised him to use his veto
power against the bill on the
grounds that it lacked
confidentiality as well as civil
liberties safeguards.
CISPA was then re-introduced
in the House in February 2013.
It was passed again by the US
House of Representatives on
18 April 2013.
New Anti-Blasphemy Law
Demands of Islamists Rejected in
Bangladesh
The Prime Minister of
Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina rejected
the demands of Islamists for new
anti-blasphemy law, according to
which the people who defame Islam
or Prophet Muhammad would be
punished. Sheikh Hasina declared
that the laws which were existing
earlier were sufficient for punishing
people who insulted the religion. It
is important to note that a lot of
Islamists in Bangladesh rallied in
Dhaka for demanding the death
penalty for people who were guilty
of blasphemy. The Islamists gave
three-week ultimatum to
Bangladeshi Government for
meeting the demands which
included tough punishments to the
atheist bloggers too.
What is Blasphemy? What is Blasphemy? What is Blasphemy? What is Blasphemy? What is Blasphemy?
Blasphemy is an act by
someone to insult or disrespect
religious deity or show irreverence
to holy persons or religion or
things.
Blasphemy law in Bangladesh
under Penal Code 1980
Bangladesh was a secular state
in 1971 and became the Islamist
state in 1988. However, the secular
penal code is used in Bangladesh
si nce 1980. Under Chapter
XV (Offences Relating to
Religion) of the Bangladesh Penal
Code 1980, Section 295 (Injuring
or defiling place of worship, with
intent to insult the religion of any
class), Section 295 A (Deliberate
and malicious acts intended to
outrage religious feelings of any
class by insulting its religion or
religious beliefs) and Section
298 (Uttering words, etc., with
deliberate intent to wound religious
feelings) are related to blasphemy
and describe punishments as well.
China, Russia and Pakistan held China, Russia and Pakistan held China, Russia and Pakistan held China, Russia and Pakistan held China, Russia and Pakistan held
talk on Afghanistan Situation talk on Afghanistan Situation talk on Afghanistan Situation talk on Afghanistan Situation talk on Afghanistan Situation
The Diplomats from Russia,
China and Pakistan on 3 April 2013
in Beijing held talks on the issue of
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coordination between their
positions on Afghanistan. The
diplomats from the three nations
backed the Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation (SCO) that is grouping
to play a great role in Afghanistan
after the withdrawal of NATO
Forces in 2014.
These talks were held to
enhance coordination. The talk of
the three nations in Beijing was a
follow up of the India, China and
Russia meet that was held in
Moscow in the recent past. These
talks aimed towards, balancing the
act for enhancement of complicated
regional dynamics. The talks
between the nations is a process to
make concerted efforts for
maintenance of Peace, Stability and
Security of the country and support
the reconciliation process of the
country that will be run by Afghans
themselves. China and Russia from
the SCO Grouping will play a bigger
role in Afghanistan after the
withdrawal of NATO Forces,
whereas, India, Afghanistan and
Pakistan along with Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan will play of role of
observer countries in the group.
China, Russia and India have
developed a trilateral mechanism
for coordination among themselves
and their positions in context of the
engagement of the three nations in
Afghanistan after the withdrawal of
NATO.
IMF Recognized Somalias New IMF Recognized Somalias New IMF Recognized Somalias New IMF Recognized Somalias New IMF Recognized Somalias New
Government Government Government Government Government
The International Monetary
Fund announced on 12 April 2013
Barack Obama cleared the way for
the U.S. to arm and train Somali
forces. The Somali government of
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud,
came into power in September
2012.
General Elections in Malaysia General Elections in Malaysia General Elections in Malaysia General Elections in Malaysia General Elections in Malaysia
scheduled to be held on 5 May scheduled to be held on 5 May scheduled to be held on 5 May scheduled to be held on 5 May scheduled to be held on 5 May

The Malaysian Election
Commission in Kuala Lumpur on 10
April 2013 announced that the
general election in Malaysia is to be
held on 5 May 2013. The election
chairman of Malaysia, Abdul Aziz
Yusof declared 20 April 2013 as the
day to start former campaign for the
general elections. The scheduled
election will decide the fate of the
ruling coalition of Prime Minister
Najib Razak (National Front), as the
governing party has enjoyed a
tenure of 56 years (since
independence) uninterrupted
governance in the country. For the
first time, the National Front lost
two-third majority in the parliament
in 2008 general elections. The
coalition government of Malaysia is
composed of three parties and they
define themselves on three different
racial lines namely, one is the
Malays, the other one is of the
Indians and the third is of the
Chinese.
The ruling coalition
Government led by Najib Razak will
be challenged by the leader of
opposition on the former Deputy
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim from
the Peoples Alliance. In 2008
elections his party won 5 of 13 states
of Malaysia.
that it recognised Somalias new
government after a 22-year gap in
relations with the country. This step
is a part of a general push by the
United States, United Nations and
the West toward encouraging
rehabilitation there. It will allow the
IMF to offer Somalia technical
assistance and policy advice.
However, Somalia will not be able
to borrow IMF funds until it repays
its 352 million US dollars in arrears
that it owes the agency. The U.S.
formally recognized Somalias new
government in January 2013, the first
time the U.S. had recognized a
Somali government since 1991,
when warlords overthrew dictator,
Siad Barre. The U.N. Security
Council in March 2013 voted
unanimously to partially suspend an
arms embargo on Somalia for 12
months for military equipment. This
was done with the objective of
developing somalias security forces
and providing security for its
people. Earlier this month, President
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UNHR Chief asked US to close UNHR Chief asked US to close UNHR Chief asked US to close UNHR Chief asked US to close UNHR Chief asked US to close
Guantanamo Prison Camp Guantanamo Prison Camp Guantanamo Prison Camp Guantanamo Prison Camp Guantanamo Prison Camp
The UN Human Rights Chief,
Navi Pillay on 5 April 2013 ordered
United States to shut down
its Guantanamo Prison Camp with
immediate effect. As per the
International Laws, the indefinite
imprisonment of the detainees by
US without any charge or trial was a
violation of International laws. The
Human Rights Chief of UN also
claimed that the hunger strike by the
inmates of the Guantanamo Bay US
Naval Base in southeastern Cuba
was a desperate act as well as an
element of Surprise. As per United
Nations Human Rights claim, the act
of US was just not a breach of its
own commitments but also of the
international laws and standards.
Guantanamo Prison Camp Guantanamo Prison Camp Guantanamo Prison Camp Guantanamo Prison Camp Guantanamo Prison Camp
Guantanamo prison camp was
started in January 2002 during bush
administration and is a detainment
and interrogation facility of the
United States military that is located
within Guantanamo Bay Naval
Base of Cuba. It is used for
holding men who are captured in
counter-terrorism operations. It
generally started after the 9/11 WTC
attack. Barack Obama pledged four
years ago to close down the
controversial facility but yet it is
under operation.
Connecticut signed Gun Control Connecticut signed Gun Control Connecticut signed Gun Control Connecticut signed Gun Control Connecticut signed Gun Control
Legislation Legislation Legislation Legislation Legislation
Connecticuts state legislature
passed the measures on 4 April
2013, which include Americas first
registry of gun offenders.
Approximately, 20 young children
were shot dead at school in
December 2012 in Newtown,
Connecticut. The state assembly
approved the legislation by 105 to
44 after a series of debates.Besides,
Marylands House of Delegates also
passed a bill requiring fingerprints
for gun buyers. However, in the US
Congress, efforts to pass firearms
restrictions are in the process. In
addition to a gun offender registry,
the restrictions introduce
background checks on all firearms
buyers and a ban on new magazines
holding more than 10 rounds.
China hiked its Defence Budget China hiked its Defence Budget China hiked its Defence Budget China hiked its Defence Budget China hiked its Defence Budget
China hiked its Defence Budget
by 10.7 percent on 5 March 2013.
As per the hiked defence budget,
the spending on the Peoples
Liberation Army (PLA) will increase
to 111 billion US dollars. The
domestic security budget will
increase by 8.7 percent to 769.1
billion yuan. Chinas defense
expenditure is about 5.4 percent of
total expenditure in 2013. It was 5.3
percent in 2012. China is making
rapid progress in the defence sector.
It recently launched a stealth fighter
jet in early 2011. Beijing is also
building new submarines, surface
ships and anti-ship ballistic to
upgrade its naval army. China also
tested emerging technology aimed
at destroying missiles in mid-air.
25th Joint Meeting of UNWTO 25th Joint Meeting of UNWTO 25th Joint Meeting of UNWTO 25th Joint Meeting of UNWTO 25th Joint Meeting of UNWTO
Commissions Commissions Commissions Commissions Commissions
25th Joint Meeting of UNWTO
Commissions for South Asia, East
Asia and the Pacific was inaugurated
by Union Tourism Minister K
Chiranjeevi on 13 April 2013 at
Hyderabad. The event will enable
India to showcase the rich heritage
to world. In the year 2012, Asia and
the Pacific region saw the highest
growth with a rate of over 7 percent.
The sub-region of South East Asia
recorded the maximum number of
arrivals within these regions with a
growth of 9 percent. The Indian
tourism growth of 5.4 percent in
terms of foreign tourist arrivals was
higher than the world average of 4
percent.
During the joint meeting, the
delegates shared the market trends
of the region in the year 2012 and
tourism prospects for the year 2013.
Various bilateral meetings took
place for developing intra-regional
and inter-regional strategies. Apart
from this, the issue of development
of UNWTO Convention for the
protection of tourists and tourism
service providers and
implementation of Global code of
ethics for Tourism was also
discussed. The meeting identified
Visa, Taxation and Connectivity as
three important determinants for the
growth of tourism. The 25th Joint
Meeting of UNWTO Commissions
for South Asia, East Asia and the
Pacific was attended by delegates
from 21 countries, eight UNWTO
affiliate members, two regional
organizations as well as industry
organizations. The next Joint
Meeting would be held in
Philippines and the 21st Session of
General Assembly of UNWTO will
be held in Cambodia.
Worlds Largest Private Yacht Worlds Largest Private Yacht Worlds Largest Private Yacht Worlds Largest Private Yacht Worlds Largest Private Yacht
Launched by German Shipyard Launched by German Shipyard Launched by German Shipyard Launched by German Shipyard Launched by German Shipyard
A German shipyard on 5 April
2013 launched Azzam, the worlds
largest private yacht,
overshadowing the previous record
holder, Russian oligarch Roman
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Abramovichs 533-foot Eclipse. The
yacht is designed by Nauta Yachts
in Italy and is constructed by
German company Lurssen Yachts.
Azzam is almost two football fields
long and rivals the size of some
cruise ships. It took four years to
complete the superyacht from
concept to construction.
Specifications of the Yacht
Length Length Length Length Length : :: :: 180 meters, or 590.55
feet.
Beam Beam Beam Beam Beam : :: :: 20.8 meters, or 68 feet.
Speed Speed Speed Speed Speed : :: :: 30 knots.
The yacht was constructed
under the supervision of Mubarak
Saad al Ahbabi, Superyachts, and
has a relatively shallow, 14-foot
draft. That will allow it to anchor in
some of the quieter harbors of the
Mediterranean, assuming her 591-
foot mass will fit. With 94000
horsepower generated from two gas
turbines ad two diesel engines, the
Azzam can reach speeds of over
55.5kph, which makes it one of the
fastest yachts in the world. The
super yacht will require a 50-person
crew to maintain and its further
specifications are not known yet.
Falkland Islands Voted
Unanimously to Stay under
British Rule
Residents of the Falkland
Islands voted almost unanimously to
stay under British rule in a
referendum held on 10-11 March
2013. The official figure showed that
99.8 percent of islanders voted in
favor of remaining a British Overseas
Territory in the two-day poll. The
referendum was rejected by
Argentina. The voters turnout was
92 percent among the 1694
Falklands-born and long term
resident. The islands lie off the tip
of Patagonia, at the southern end of
South America. Argentina had
mounted pressure on Britain to
negotiate the sovereignty of the
islands. It has increased its pressure
since UK companies started drilling
for oil and natural gas off the
Falklands coastline. Many Latin
American nations support
Argentina. Argentina has claimed
the Falkland Islands since 1833.
Argentina and Britain had fought a
war in 1982 for rights over the
islands.
USA Government approved USA Government approved USA Government approved USA Government approved USA Government approved
Military Assistance to Somalia Military Assistance to Somalia Military Assistance to Somalia Military Assistance to Somalia Military Assistance to Somalia
US government in the second
week of April 2013 approved the
proposal to provide military
assistance to Somalia for rebuilding
itself following years of conflict. In
March 2013, the UN Security Council
agreed to partially lift its ban on
selling arms to Somalia for a year.
The ban was imposed in 1992 which
is in fact the worlds oldest.The
decision helps Somalias new
government to purchase light arms
to help it in its fight against the al-
Qaeda-aligned al-Shabab Islamist
militant group. USA never formally
cut diplomatic ties with Somalia, but
the Black Hawk Down incident in
1993, during which 18 American
servicemen were killed after militia
fighters in Somalia shot two US
military helicopters out of the sky
led to anarchy in the country.
President Mohamud came to power
in 2012 after the first election of its
kind following the fall of President
Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
Talks on Irans Nuclear Talks on Irans Nuclear Talks on Irans Nuclear Talks on Irans Nuclear Talks on Irans Nuclear
Programme Ended without Programme Ended without Programme Ended without Programme Ended without Programme Ended without
Agreement Agreement Agreement Agreement Agreement
The latest talks on Irans
nuclear programme ended without
agreement on 6 April 2013. After a
two-day meeting in Kazakhstan, the
major powers failed to break the
deadlock. The five permanent
members of the UN Security Council
- the US, Russia, China, the UK and
France - plus Germany had asked
Iran to stop enriching uranium up to
20 percent in exchange for some
relief from sanctions. Iran stated that
it would not compromise on its right
to enrich uranium. Given the fact
that the Presidential elections are
scheduled to be held in Iran in June
2013, it is unlikely that there would
be a breakthrough in the talks.
Two Tribal Women to Contest Two Tribal Women to Contest Two Tribal Women to Contest Two Tribal Women to Contest Two Tribal Women to Contest
Polls for the First Time in Polls for the First Time in Polls for the First Time in Polls for the First Time in Polls for the First Time in
Pakistan Pakistan Pakistan Pakistan Pakistan
Two tribal women from
Federally Administered Tribal Areas
(Fata) and Provincially
Administered Tribal Areas (Pata), on
31 March 2013 filed nominations for
participation in general elections
scheduled for 11 May 2013. With
this, these two women created
history by becoming the first tribal
women to file the nominations for
general elections. Badam Zari from
Bajaur Agency is the first women
from Federally Administered Tribal
Areas (Fata) who filed the
nomination for contesting for the
National Assembly seat, NA-44.
Another woman, Nusrat Begum,
from Lower Dir filed her
nominations. Nusrat Begum was
also elected as the district vice
president of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf
(PTI) in intra-party polls. Filing of
nomination papers by tribal women
for the first time in Pakistan is
historical in itself because tribal
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traditions did not allow women to
exercise the right to franchise as of
now.
Amended Marriage Equality Bill Amended Marriage Equality Bill Amended Marriage Equality Bill Amended Marriage Equality Bill Amended Marriage Equality Bill
2013 Passed in Uruguay 2013 Passed in Uruguay 2013 Passed in Uruguay 2013 Passed in Uruguay 2013 Passed in Uruguay
The Lower House of Uruguay,
the Chamber of Deputies voted on
10 April 2013 in Montevideo,
Uruguay to legalise the same-sex
marriage bill called Amended
Marriage Equality Bill, thus making
Uruguay the third in America to have
done that after Argentina and
Canada. 71 lawmakers out of 92 in
the Chamber of Deputies voted in
favour of the Amended Marriage
Equality Bill. Now the Bill will
finally become a law after the
President of Uruguay, Jos Mujica
signs it into law. Under this law, the
gay couples will be allowed to
marry, with equal legal rights like
those of opposite sex couples. It is
worth noticing that earlier, the gay
couples had some legal recognition
in the form of adoption of the
children. Some of the Uruguayan gay
couples married in Argentina where
gay marriages were legalised since
2010. The Amended Marriage
Equality Bill increased the minimum
age of marriage for Uruguayans to
16 years. With the passing of this bill,
Uruguay will become the 12th
country of the world to approve
same-sex marriage.
European Union tightened up European Union tightened up European Union tightened up European Union tightened up European Union tightened up
Bank Lending Rules and Bonuses Bank Lending Rules and Bonuses Bank Lending Rules and Bonuses Bank Lending Rules and Bonuses Bank Lending Rules and Bonuses
European Parliament
approved new rules on bankers
bonuses and the amount of capital
that banks must hold as a buffer by
a big majority. The new rules called
CRD 4 (Capital Requirements
Directive) will be effective from 1
January 2014. The EU plans to cap
bonuses at 100% of a bankers
annual salary, or 200% if
shareholders approve. The
objective behind the planning is to
curb the sort of high-risk lending
that contributed to the financial
crash in 2008. CRD 4 brings the EU
into line with Basel III rules on
banking standards, which set new
capital requirements for banks.
Under CRD 4 Under CRD 4 Under CRD 4 Under CRD 4 Under CRD 4
Banks will have to provide
more data about their profits
and taxes, on a country-by-
country basis.
CRD4 will oblige banks to
increase the portion of best-
quality core capital to 4.5
percent, from the present 2
percent.
They have to hold a minimum
total capital of 8% of risk-
weighted assets - that is,
capital held to back the loans
that they make.
The credit crunch was a
liquidity crisis, so in future,
banks will have to be able to
meet their liabilities for a
period of at least 30 days
during financial stress.
China Announced Sightseeing China Announced Sightseeing China Announced Sightseeing China Announced Sightseeing China Announced Sightseeing
Cruises to Disputed Paracel Cruises to Disputed Paracel Cruises to Disputed Paracel Cruises to Disputed Paracel Cruises to Disputed Paracel
Islands Islands Islands Islands Islands
Chinese officials on 7 April
2013 announced that sightseeing
cruises to Sansha, the newest city
of China located on the disputed
Paracel Islands in South China Sea
will begin later in April 2013. The act
to start the sightseeing cruises to
Sansha will increase the dispute
over sovereignty claims to disputed
Paracel Islands.
The Islands are called Xisha in
China and Paracels everywhere else
in the world. The Paracel Islands are
disputed over sovereignty claims by
China, Taiwan and Vietnam. It is
important to note that China claimed
sovereignty over around complete
South China Sea.
These claims were strongly
countered by Philippines, Malaysia,
Brunei and Vietnam. The
announcement of sightseeing
cruises to Sansha was done from
Hainan, the headquarters of Chinas
South China Sea naval fleet. The
tourists going for Sansha sightseeing
through cruises will eat as well as
sleep on the cruise itself because of
inadequacy of accommodation
facilities. The shipbuilder Haihang
Group Corp Ltd declared that the
cruise ship was prepared for taking
around 2000 passengers on this tour
to Islands. Second cruise ship is
under construction by Hainan
Harbor and Shipping Holdings Co.
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About Sansha City
Sansha is the newest Chinese
city which was established in
July 2012. Sansha was
established for administering
over 200 islands, reefs as well
as sandbanks in South China
Sea.
The territory within 800000
square miles of waters under
the control of Sansha is
disputed.
South China Sea also houses
crucial shipping lanes along
with substantial oil and gas
deposits.
The Government of Sansha is
situated on Yongxing (Woody)
Island in the Paracels.
Paracel Islands Dispute Paracel Islands Dispute Paracel Islands Dispute Paracel Islands Dispute Paracel Islands Dispute
The Paracel Islands are also
known as Xisha in China and Hong
Sa Islands in Vietnamese. These are
the group of islands where
sovereignty is disputed by China,
Taiwan and Vietnam. All the islands
at present are under Chinese
administration, which in July 2012
also established the new Sansha
City. It is important to note that the
forces of China and Vietnam
occupied the parts of these Islands
before 1974. In 1974, Battle of the
Paracel Islands took place, after
which China took the control of the
Paracel Islands.
Result of Venezuelas Presidential Result of Venezuelas Presidential Result of Venezuelas Presidential Result of Venezuelas Presidential Result of Venezuelas Presidential
Election Declared Election Declared Election Declared Election Declared Election Declared
As per the Venezuelas
Presidential election result declared
on 14 April 2013, Nicolas Maduro
emerged as the winner. However,
the opposition refused to accept the
result. It alleged that elections were
rigged.Maduro won 50.7 percent
votes while his main opposition
candidate Henrique Capriles
Radonski managed 49.1 percent
votes with more than 99 percent of
the ballots counted. The voters
turnout was more than 78 percent
of eligible voters.
Maduro was named as Hugo
Chavezs successor in his last
speech to the nation before dying
from cancer in March 2013. Maduro
had been serving as acting president
since Chavezs death. Nicolas
Maduro was a candidate for the
United Socialist Party of Venezuela
wheras Radonski represented a
coalition of opposition parties.
Venezuela holds the worlds largest
oil reserves. Since Maduro is the
handpicked successor the
International and economical
policies of Venezuela can be the
same even after Chavezs death.
Visa on Arrival facility for Senior Visa on Arrival facility for Senior Visa on Arrival facility for Senior Visa on Arrival facility for Senior Visa on Arrival facility for Senior
Citizens of Pakistan Citizens of Pakistan Citizens of Pakistan Citizens of Pakistan Citizens of Pakistan
Indian on 1 April 2013 started
Visa on Arrival (VoA) facility for the
Senior Citizens of Pakistan. The
Pakistani Senior Citizens in the age
group of 65+ years would be
allowed to take the Visa at Attari/
Wagah Check-Post. This is going to
be a single entry Visa and will allow
a Pakistani resident in India for a
maximum period of 45 days. The
services of granting the Visa on
arrival started from 1 April 2013
based on mutual agreements. The
Visa on Arrival initially was
scheduled to start from 15 January
2013 but was delayed citing
technical problem in wake up of the
killing of the two Indian Soldiers on
the LoC by the Pakistani Army on 8
January 2013. Decision on group
tourist visa facility has yet not been
taken. Initially the two countries
agreed to operationalize the group
tourist visa facility to be offered to
each others citizens and were
supposed to start from 15 March
2013. The facility of providing the
one time Visa for the citizens of both
countries was decided following the
guidelines of the Liberalised Visa
Pact that was signed between the
two nations in September 2013. The
pact was signed for easing the
cross0-border travel as part of a
confidence building measure
between the two countries.
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India & The World
INDIA AND GERMANY
Pri me Mi nister of India,
Manmohan Singh visited Germany
from 10 April 2013 to 12 April 2013
for participating in second round of
Inter Governmental Consultations
with Germany. He was
accompani ed by delegati on
including Ministers and senior
officials.
Duri ng hi s vi si t , cert ai n
documents were signed. These
documents are as follows:
Joint Declaration of Intent
regarding promotion of German as
a foreign language in India
The Joint Declaration of Intent
Also scholarships would be
awarded for Masters degree
programs and for short stays
in Germany with the goal of
improving mutual trust and
intercultural relations.
I nt ergovernment al MoU
between Indi a & Germany on
Cooperation in the field of Higher
Education
This MoU was signed between
M. Mangapati Pallam Raju,
Minister for Human Resource
Development from India and
Johanna Wanka, Federal
Minister of Education and
Research from Germany.
This MoU intends to facilitate
people-to-people exchanges.
Thi s i ncl udes students,
academi cs, and proj ect
collaborators.
Joint Declaration of Intent on
Indo-German cooperation in the
area of Civil Security Research
This Joint Declaration was
signed between Minister for
Science & Technology, Jaipal
Reddy from India and Federal
Minister of Education and
regardi ng promoti on of
German as a foreign language
in India was signed between
M. Mangapati Pallam Raju,
Minister for Human Resource
Development from India and
Cornelia Pieper, Minister of
State in the German Foreign
Office.
Under the Joint Declaration,
Indi a would cooperate in
introducing B.Ed programmes
for German language.
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Research, Johanna Wanka
from Germany.
The Indo-German research
cooperation in this new area
intends to fund 5 pilot projects
in 2013 with the identified
pri ori ti es bei ng natural
di saster management,
biological ri sk si tuations,
urban security, protection &
rescue of people and social
aspects of ci vi l securi ty
research.
Joi nt Decl arati on f or t he
bilateral Kooperations Program of
the German Federal Ministry of
Food, Agriculture and Consumer
Protection and the National Seeds
Associ ati on of Indi a and t he
German Associ at i on of Pl ant
Breeders
Thi s was signed between
Ambassador of India and Gerd
Mull er, Parl i amentary State
Secretary, Federal Ministry of Food,
Agri cul ture and Consumer
Protection, Germany.
This joint declaration aims at
strengthening cooperation in:
plant variety protection
conservation of plant genetic
resources
cooperation between Indian
and German agri cul tural
research institutions and seed
companies
the Establ ishment of an Indo-
German Working Group on Quality
Infrastructure for Cooperation in
St andardi sat i on, Conf ormi t y
Assessment and Product Safety
This was signed between
Foreign Secretary of India and
Anne Ruth Herkes, State
Secretary at the Federal
Ministry of Economics and
Technology of Germany.
Thi s ai ms to strengthen
bi l ateral cooperati on i n
standardization, conformity
assessment and product
safety through advanci ng
bi l ateral economi c and
techni cal cooperati on,
i ntensi fyi ng di alogue and
promoti ng coordi nated
acti vi ti es i n i nternati onal
organizations.
It al so provi des for
establishing and Indo-German
Worki ng Group Qual i ty
Infrastructure.
I ndo- German Devel opment
Cooperat i on regardi ng t he
Establishment of Green Energy
Corridors
This was signed between
Farooq Abdullah, Minister for
New and Renewable Energy,
Indi a and Gudrun Kopp,
Parliamentary State Secretary,
Germany.
This joint declaration aims at
fostering increased use of
renewable energy in India
through techni cal and
fanatical cooperation by way
of i ntegrating addi ti onal
renewable energy generation
capacity with the national
grid.
The Technical cooperation
woul d be impl emented
through the German Agency
for International Cooperation
(GIZ) and KfW intends to
provide concessional loans of
up to Euro one billion over the
next six years.
List of documents signed on
the sidelines of 2nd round of India-
Germany I nt ergovernment al
Consultations
MoU between Solar Energy
Centre and Fraunhofer
Institute for cooperation and
exchanges in various areas
including solar photovoltaic;
sol ar thermal s systems;
hydrogen and fuel cells.
Programme of Cooperation
between Dept. of
Biotechnology of India and
Helmholtz Association in the
area of development of future
natural drugs.
Suppl ementary MoU on
Research Framework of the
Indo-German Centre for
Sustainability at IIT, Madras
under the National Climate
Action Plan.
MoU between Deutsche Bahn
and Indi an Rai l ways for
cooperation in the field of
freight, passenger operations,
infrastructure building and
management; development of
modern competitive railway
organization.
MoU between DB Systel and
Centre for Railway Information
Systems for cooperation in the
field of information systems
related to railways.
MOU between Hof University
of Appl i ed Sci ences &
Integrated Association of
Mi cro, Smal l & Medi um
Enterpri ses of India (SPV
formed by Faridabad Small
Industri es Association) to
devel op speci al i zed
vocational training course.
MOU between Mani pal
University, Manipal, India &
Bavari an Uni versi ti es
Consortium represented by
Hof University of Applied
Sci ences of Germany to
establish the Indo-Bavarian
Integrated Bachel ors and
Masters Programme in August
2013.
MoU between Infosys Ltd and
Bertel smann Sti ftung to
support Vocational Education
and Training in India.
MOU between PSG Institute of
Advanced Studi es &
Professional Training Centres
of the Bavarian Employers
Association (BFZ).
Contract agreement between
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Cairn India and TUV Rheinland
to set up a state-of-the-art
vocational education training
facility in Rajasthan.
INDIA AND BANGLADESH
Nati onal Thermal Power
Corporation of India and Power
Development Bangladesh signed
three agreements on 20 April 2013
i n Dhaka, Bangl adesh. The
agreements were a part of setting up
of the biggest ever joint venture
project of 1320 Megawatt Coal
based power plant. This project is
to be developed at an expense of
1.6 billion US dollars.
The pacts three pacts inked
f or t he 1320MW coal - based
Bangl adesh- I ndi a Fri endshi p
Power Company (Pvt) Limited
(BIFPCL) include:
Power Purchase Agreement
(PPA)
Implementation Agreement
(IA)
Supplementary Joint Venture
Agreement (SJVA)
P. Umashankar, Union Power
Secretary of India led the Indian
delegation at the signing ceremony
of the mega project. The MoU for
Indias cooperation in Power Sector
were identified as exchange of
power, grid connectivity, energy
efficiency and electricity generation
with Bangladesh, during the visit of
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to
India in January 2011. In January
2013, NTPC and Bangladeshs Power
Development Board (PDB) signed a
Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) with
equal equity participation (50:50)
for development of power projects
countries agreed on the issue of
exploring setting up of a Joint
Working Group in the Information
and Broadcasting Sector.
Issues Discussed and
Conclusions Reached
Mi ni sters from both the
nations discussed upon joint
collaboration for production
of a mega film that depicts the
War of Liberation. The two
ministers agreed to work on
finalization of a road map in
context of the film proposal.
The Bangl adesh mi ni ster
asked for the names of the
soldiers, who laid down their
l i ves duri ng the war to
recognize them.
Mi ni sters also agreed to
explore the possibi li ty of
setting up of a Joint Working
Group on the critical sectors
of the Informati on and
Broadcasting domain. The
Working Group would provide
a roadmap for future
collaborations between the
two countries.
A formal request to downlink
the TV channels of Bangladesh
through the Pri vate
di stri buti on network was
made by the Bangl adesh
Information Minister.
Agreement was reached
between the two ministers to
col l aborate between the
Prasar Bharti and Bangladesh
State Television in view of the
Memorandum of
Understanding that was
si gned between the two
entities in 2011. The MoU had
focused on mutual
cooperation in the broadcast
of television programmes
between the two
broadcasters. It was also
mentioned that both countries
could consider exchange of
programmes and also explore
in Bangl adesh. Thi s proj ect is
proposed to be developed over an
area of 1834 acres of land near
Mongla Seaport in Rampal Upazila.
It i s the largest ever forei gn
investment in the power Sector in
Bangladesh as well as the first power
plant that is being developed by
NTPC outside India. The power
plant will be developed with a super
critical technology. As per the
environmentalists, the joint-power
project will be disastrous to the
environment and vegetation of the
Sunderbans the worlds largest
mangrove forest. The country has
also seen many projects for the
cancellation of the project by the
Government.
India and Bangladesh discussed
for a Joint Collaboration on
Mega-Film on Liberation War
Manish Tewari, Minister of
Information and Broadcasting of
India on 11 April 2013 met Hasanul
Haq Inu, Bangladesh Minister for
Information & Broadcasting and
discussed on di fferent i ssues
i ncl uding issues related to
Information and Broadcasting sector
of the two countries. Both the
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the possibility of executive TV
co-production.
Discussions on identifying the
ways for strengtheni ng
collaboration as far as training
and capacity building was
concerned between
i nsti tuti ons of mutual
interests.
Agreement on exchange of
archival material between the
two countries was reached
between the two ministers,
like major policy initiatives
undertaken by the
Government for exponential
growth of the sector.
INDIA AND CHINA
The two-day India-Chi na
counter-terrorism dialogue ended
on 12 April 2013 in Beijing China.
The two nations discussed upon the
ways to step up cooperation to
counter terror in Afghanistan as a
follow up plan after the withdrawal
of US forces from Afghanistan in
2014.
Issues Discussed and Agreed
The two si des exchanged
vi ews and opi ni ons on
regional and international
counter terrorism situation
and bilateral cooperation in
the field
Discussions were made on the
fragi l e condi ti on of
Afghanistan and increased
attacks from Tali ban that
woul d emerge after
withdrawal of US forces from
the country, they al so
discussed upon the initiatives
planned to be taken by India,
China and Russia to deal with
the situation
India and China held their First
Dialogue on Afghanistan in
Beijing
India and China on 18 April
2013 held their first dialogue on
Afghanistan in Beijing in a bid to
evolve a joint strategy to deal with
much feared possible return of
Taliban and al-Qaeda after the
departure of US troops in 2014.
India and China agreed that Afghan
issue concerns regional security and
stability. China and India are two
important countries in the region
and consultations on Afghanistan
help them to coordinate positions,
deepen cooperation and contribute
to early settlement of the issue. This
is the first time that China held such
a di alogue wi th Indi a on
Afghanistan, expandi ng
consultations with its close ally
Pakistan and Russia.
INDIA AND SINGAPORE
India and Singapore on 2 April
2013 signed an enhanced ai r
services agreement to build on the
existing 216 weekly flights and meet
the growi ng demand for ai r
connectivity between both the
countries. It is evident that the
demand for air services between
both countri es i s growi ng
continuously so the the bilateral air
services agreement in this context
is basically enhanced to include
more capacity entitlements. It is also
entitled as per the enhancement
agreement that both countri es
would meet regularly to review air
services matters. It is important here
to note that Singapore is linked by
air services to 12 Indian cities,
having the most frequent flights to
India out of Southeast Asia. The
agreement was signed by Civil
Aviation Minister Ajit Singh and
Singapore Transport Minister Liu
Tuck Yew. Civil Aviation Minister
Ajit Singh was present in Singapore
from 2 April 2013 to 4 April 2013.
He had al so discussed the
importance of air connectivity in
enhancing bi l ateral trade ti es
between India and Singapore, with
S Iswaran, Singapores Minister,
Prime Ministers Office and Second
Minister for Trade & Industry and
Home Affairs.
India and Singapore Signed
Memorandum of Understanding
on Air Services
India and Singapore on 2 April
2013 signed a new Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) on bilateral
air services arrangement during the
visit of Civil Aviation Minister, Ajit
Singh to Singapore. It rationalizes
the capacity entitlements of both
countries in terms of seats per week
in each direction with a route
specific cap for Singapore on each
route. The MoU also enhances, by
10%, the capacity entitlement with
India now entitled to operate 29,400
weekly passenger seats from India
to Singapore and the designated
airlines of Singapore entitled to
operate 28,700 weekly passenger
seats from Singapore to India. No
additional point of call has been
given to Singapore. India also did
not agree to the demand of
Singapore for additional point of
calls from Pune and Madurai. The
common pool rights to the extent
of 5160 seats earlier available to
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Singapore, which provided greater
operational flexibility to Singapore
carriers at major metro centres viz
Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai, have
now been withdrawn. The
designated airlines of Singapore can
operate with any ai rcraft type
except A-380. The delegation level
talks were held between Prabhat
Kumar, Joint Secretary i n the
Ministry of Civil Aviation and Yap
Ong Heng, Director-General, Civil
Aviation Authority of Singapore.
Both the sides have agreed to review
and update the ai r services
agreement and meet every two
years to discuss various air services
matters.
INDIA AND MAURITIUS
India and Mauritius on 12 April
2013 signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) in New Delhi
on cooperati on in the field of
El ecti on Management and
Admi ni stration. The MoU was
signed by Chi ef El ecti on
Commi ssi oner of India, V. S.
Sampath and the Electoral
Commi ssi oner of Mauri tius,
Mohammad Irfan Abdool Rahman.
Aims of MoU Signed
Promotion of exchanges of
knowledge and experience in
electoral processes
Exchange of i nformation,
materi al s, experti se and
training of personnel
Production and distribution of
materi al s pertai ni ng to
el ectoral systems, voti ng
technology, voters education
as well as awareness and
participation of women and
minorities in electoral process
The MoU is a great landmark
that will help in strengthening and
deepening of the mutual
collaboration between the Election
Commission of India and Electoral
Commi ssi oners Offi ce of
Mauritius. Electoral Commissioner
of Mauritius appreciated Indian
Model Code of Conduct by Election
Commi ssi on of Indi a and
acknowledged that Model Electoral
Code of Mauritius drew inspirations
with it. So far, Election Commission
meet identified several ideas of
col l aborati on i n sustai nabl e
development between the two
countries for mutual benefits in the
Oil and Gas Sector.
Some of the basic
Areas identified include
Proj ects on Sol ar Energy
applications for Oil & Gas
Projects
Proj ects on Sol ar Energy
applications for Biofuels &
Algae based biofuels research
and water and waste water
management
Carbon capture & reformation
Finlands Green Growth &
Groove programme for
suitable application to Indian
Scenari o and Academi c
Institutions/Universities for
collaborative R&D projects in
areas of low carbon growth
technologies and sustainable
development.
Followi ng the concl usions
reached after the meet of the
delegati ons i ts l ikel y that a
Memorandum of Understanding can
be taken up between the
Governments of the two countries
in the near future. The collaboration
between the two MoPNG and
Finland Government can be in the
areas of sustainable development
for mutual benefits in accordance to
the agreement, respective laws and
regulation of the two nations.
INDIA AND MONGOLIA
The 4th Meeting of the India-
Mongol ia Joi nt Committee on
of India has successfully signed
seventeen MoUs with Election
Monitoring bodi es of different
nations across the world. Latest
MoUs signed by ECI are with UNDP,
Venezuela, Republic of Korea and
Egypt.
INDIA AND FINLAND
A fourteen member Delegation
from Finland led by Marja Rislakki,
State Secretary Mi nistry of
Employment & Economy of Finland
met with an Indian delegation led
by Lakshmi Panabaka, Minister of
State, MoPNG Government of India
on 15 April 2013. The delegation
from both countries during their
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Cooperation was held in New Delhi
on 21 March 2013. It was jointly
chaired by E. Ahamed, Minister of
State for External Affairs of India,
and Luvsannyam Gantumur, Minister
for Educati on and Sci ence of
Mongolia.
The Joint Committee reviewed
the entire range of issues in India-
Mongolia relations. The Indian side
conveyed that Indian companies
were interested in playing a larger
rol e i n the Mongol i an mi neral
processing and mining industry, and
expressed the hope that a
favourable environment for their
operations could be created. The
Indian side reiterated its support for
Mongolias development processes
and reaffirmed that it is modernizing
the Raj i v Gandhi Pol ytechni c
College of Production and Art in
Ulaanbaatar. The Indian side is also
consi deri ng setti ng up a mi l k
processi ng pl ant i n Mongol ia.
Implementation of the Line of Credit
of US $20 million extended by India
to Mongolia for setting up an India-
Mongol ia Joi nt Informati on
Technol ogy Education and
Outsourcing Center in Ulaanbaatar
was discussed. Discussions during
the Joint Committee Meeting also
focused on continuation of joint
military exercises, the proposed visit
of an Indian business delegation to
Mongoli a thi s summer, the
possibility of launching air services
between India and Mongolia and the
establishment of an India-Mongolia
Joint School. The 5th Meeting of the
Joint Committee on Cooperation
will be held in Mongolia in 2014.
INDIA AND TAJIKISTAN
The Vice-President of India,
Hamid Ansari was on an official visit
to Tajikistan from 14 April to 18 April
2013 and was accompanied by a
high-level delegation that included
Minister of State for Agriculture and
Food Processing Industries and four
Members of Parliament. During this
visit of the Vice-President, the two
nations discussed on several issues
and agreed on working together
towards strengthening the ties
between the two countries, like,
human resource development,
academic exchange and promote
joint research and project work
between both the Tajik Technical
University and IIT, Delhi and more.
Some of the important issues
on which discussions were made
and agreed upon
Regi onal Securi ty Issues:
Exchange of vi ews on
mai ntenance of regi onal
peace and securi ty by
strengthening cooperation
with each other. Discussions
on strengtheni ng
Afghani stans capaci ty
towards maintenance of
peace and prosperity were
al so made. As wel l as
cooperation on security issues
as well as in countering cross-
border terrorism were also
discussed.
Strengt hen the St rat egi c
Partnership: Leaders of both
the nations agreed to focus on
the welfare of the people of
both the nati ons, wi th a
common approach.
Strategi c Partnershi p i n
strengthening the relations in
energy sector, heal th, IT,
educati on as wel l as
establishing the small and
micro industries in the country
Agreements Reached
Increasing Trade: The leaders
of both the nation identified
the areas, in which trade can
be further extended. They also
identified the issue of fine-
tuned connectivity between
the two countri es as the
barrier.
Trans- Af ghan Corri dor:
Leaders of both the countries
agreed on opening the trans-
Afghan corri dor for to
facilitate easy access of trade
to and from the land-locked
country. This proposed route
will come via Afghanistan and
Pakistan
Agreement was also reached
over strengthening relations in
mi ni ng, i nformati on
technology enabled services
and medical sectors.
Hamid Ansari, is the first Vice-
President of Indian Union to visit
Tajikistan. Before this visit of Hamid
Ansari to Tajikistan, President of
Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon visited
India in 2012 and during the same
visit the bil ateral rel ati onshi p
between the two countries was
elevated to the strategic partnership
level.
INDIA AND MALTA
On 8 April 2013, India and
Malta signed the new DTAA (The
Doubl e Taxati on Avoi dance
Agreement) at Valetta, Malta during
the visit of Preneet Kaur, Minister of
State for External Affairs of India.
Once the DTAA enters into force, it
will stimulate the flow of capital,
technology and personnel between
both the countries and will further
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strengthen the economi c
relationship. It also provides tax
stability and reduces any obstacles
in providing mutual cooperation
between India and Malta.
DTAA and the Protocol
between the Republic of India and
Malta for the avoidance of double
taxation and for the prevention of
fiscal evasion with respect to taxes
on income is in force since 8th
February, 1995. Both India and Malta
have renegotiated the Agreement to
bring in line with international
standards, change in domestic laws
and changed economic scenario.
INDIA AND AZERBAIJAN
Union Mi ni ster of Law &
Justice of India, Ashwani Kumar and
Minister of Justice of Republic of
Azerbaij an, Fi krat Mammadov
signed a Treaty on Legal and Judicial
Cooperati on i n Ci vi l and
Commercial Matters on 4 April 2013.
Apart from signing of the treaty,
there were del egati on-l evel
discussions between India and
Azerbaijan.
Major points of the Treaty on
Legal and Judicial Cooperation in
Civil and Commercial Matters
The treaty between India and
Azerbaijan in civil matters is a
comprehensive agreement for
reciprocal agreement with the
foreign countries for different
purposes such as service of
summons, issuing Letters of
Request, taking of evidence,
execution of civil decrees as
well as enforcement of arbitral
awards.
According to the provisions of
the treaty, requests for legal
assi stance wi l l be made
through the Central
Authorities of the Contracting
Parties. The Central Authority
of the Contracting Party in
India is Ministry of Law and
Justice, while the same in
Azerbai j an is Mi ni stry of
Justice.
The aim of the treaty is to
provide benefit to the citizens
of these two countries for
seeking Legal Assistance in
Civil and Commercial Matters
in their respective countries,
irrespective of income, class
or gender bias. The treaty will
al l ow openi ng of new
ventures of cooperati on
between Indi a and
Azerbaijan.
It is important to note that the
treaties like this were also signed
with other countries such as
Mongolia, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan,
France, U.A.E., Bahrain, Kuwait and
Russia.
INDIA AND LANKA
The three-day visit of five-
member FICCI-sponsored Indian
Parliamentary delegation concluded
on 12 April 2013. The delegation met
a cross section of political opinion
in a bid to understand the political
situation in the Northern Province of
Sri Lanka, during its three day meet.
The multi-party delegation spent
two days in Jaffna, where they met
opposition and ruling Party Tamil
Leaders and members of Civil
Society. They also met beneficiaries
of Indian Housing Projects at two
different sites as well as Fishnet
Factory in Jaffna. The delegation
identified the condition of Northern
Sri Lanka four years after the Civil
War ended. The delegati on
comprised of two BJP leaders
namely Praksah Javadekar and
Anurag Thakur and one leader from
each Congress, Trinamool Congress
and BSP namely Sandeep Dikshit,
Saugata Roy and Dhananjay Singh
respectively.
INDIA AND TANZANIA
Government of India and the
Government of Tanzania signed a
Letter of Intent(LoI) on 6 April 2013
at De res Salaam during the visit of
Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad
Verma to the latter. The LoI aims to
promote and expand bil ateral
relations between the two countries
in the mineral sector with focus on
strengthening supply chain for
growth of the steel industry in both
the countries. The LoI aims to
encourage investment opportunities
in India and Tanzania in the iron &
steel related businesses, facilitates
exchange of technical know-how in
devel opi ng i ron and steel
production and other steel related
raw material s, i ncl uding
pel l eti sati on pl ants and other
associated industries. LoI aims that
both the Governments jointly work
for developing the steel industry and
exchange techni call y qualified
manpower for sustainable growth of
iron & steel industry. The LoI will not
only strengthen relations between
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India and Tanzania. It will also give
added thrust to the possibility of
exploration and development of
mineral assets in the country.
INDIA AND RUSSIA
India and Government of Russian
Federation on 10 April 2013 at
Moscow si gned a Regul ati on
defining the structure, functions and
procedure of the Joint Commission.
The regulation was established by
an Agreement, which was signed on
21 December 2010 in New Delhi in
the fi el d of Emergency
Management. The agreement was
si gned by Vl adi mi r Puchkov,
Minister of the Russian Federation
for Civil Defense, Emergencies and
between the two countries to
help each other at times of
emergency in prevention and
elimination of consequences
It will strengthen the Indo-
Russian co-operation as well
as the bond of friendship
between the two nations
The Agreement will enhance
cooperati on i n the fi el d of
emergency management and
contribute in ensuring the safety and
well-being of the people of both
countries at times of disasters. Both
the countries will also exchange the
technical and scientific information
in areas of emergency management
that is mutually beneficial for both
sides.
Indo-Russian Commission is
the body that will look forward for
proper implementati on of the
agreement to catalyze the
cooperation between the two
nations. The joint-commissions
meets will be held alternatively in
Indian and Russia.
Elimination of Consequences of
Natural Disasters and Sushil kumar
Shinde, the Union Minister of Home
Affairs.
Importance of the
Agreement Signed
This will set an environment
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1083 Crore
Rupees Revival Plan for HMT
The Cabinet Committee on
Economic Affairs (CCEA) under
Union Government on 18 April 2013
approved a 1083-crore Rupees
renewal package for watch and
tractor maker company HMT. The
approval of the revival Plan Directly
aims to modernise the company and
help it turn around in five years. The
package approved basi cal l y
includes a cash infusion of 450 crore
rupees and a non-cash assistance of
630 crore Rupees.
Significance of the Package
Approved
The package i s ai med at
turni ng the l oss maki ng
Economy
company to profit-making one
over five years by increasing
production.
The cash component of the
package wi ll be used for
moderni zation, worki ng
capi tal needs and wage
revision.
The company also aims to hike
production to 30000 units
from the current 4500 units
over five years.
Workshop on Green
National Accounting for India
Two- da y I nt e r na t i on a l
Workshop on Green Nati onal
Accounting for India finished in
New Delhi on 6 April 2013. The
Government of India established the
expert group under Ministry of
Stati sti cs and Programme
Implementation (MOSPI) in August
2011. The aim of this expert group
was development of framework for
green national accounts,
identification of data gaps and
preparation of a road map to
implement the framework. The
expert group conducted in-depth
deliberations on these issues over
past one and half years. The report
was submitted in the international
workshop. The report called, Green
National Accounts in India A
Framework was released by the
Prime Minister of India, Manmohan
Singh on 5 April 2013. The Green
National Accounts in India A
Framework report reflected the
state of economy. It also formed the
raw material for assessment and
policy formulation. This report
consi sted of si x chapters and
includes conceptual foundations of
economic evaluation. The report
also deal s wi th not onl y the
conceptual buil ding up of the
system of Green National Accounts,
but al so deal s wi th the
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implementation ability aspects
based on the conceptual framework
of Green Accounting Framework.
Changes in FTP 2009-14 to
Enhance Trade and SEZs
Union Minister for Commerce,
Industry and Textil es, Anand
Sharma rel eased the Annual
Supplement 2013-14 to Foreign
Trade Policy (FTP) 2009-14 18 April
2013 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
During the fiscal year 2012-13, the
export of India grew to 300.60 US
Billion Dollar from 300 US Billion
Dollar, but it fell by 1.76 percent
previous year. The trade deficit
which was 183.4 US Billion Dollar
last year has increased to 190.91 US
Billion Dollar. On this occasion of
releasing the Annual Supplement
2013-14 to Foreign Trade Policy
2009-14 the government introduced
many strategic Changes to policies
to revive the interest of the investors
in Social Economic Zones (SEZs) as
well as to boost exports.
Few of the important changes
introduced
Changes in SEZs
Si ze of total area of land
requi red for development
of SEZs have been reduced
Graded Scale for Minimum
Land Cri teri a has been
introduced
Flexibilities are introduced to
set up additional units sector
specific SEZs
Policy to provide duty benefits
to pre-existing structures and
activities being undertaken
Salient Features of the Zero Duty
EPCG includes
Authorization holders will
have export obligation of 6
times the duty saved amount.
The export obligation has to
be completed in a period of 6
years
The period for import under
the Scheme would be 18
months
The di scharge of Export
Obl i gati on by export of
alternate products and the
accounti ng of group
companies has been barred
The benefits of the Zero Duty
EPCG Scheme can be availed
by the exporters who have
avai l ed benefi ts under
Technology Upgradation Fund
Scheme (TUFS) administered
by Ministry of Textiles
Under the new Zero Duty
EPCG Scheme, i mport of
motor cars, SUVs, all purpose
vehicles for hotel s, travel
agents, or tour transport
operators and companies
owning/operating golf resorts
will not allowed
Reduced EO for Domestic
Sourcing of Capital Goods
The quantum of speci fi c
Export Obligation (EO) in the
case of domestic sourcing of
capital goods under EPCG
authori zati ons has been
reduced by 10%. This would
promote domesti c
manufacturi ng of capi tal
goods.
Reduced EO for units in the State
of Jammu & Kashmir
To encourage manufacturing
activity in the State of Jammu
& Kashmir the specific export
obligation (EO) is reduced to
25% of the normal export
obligation. Earlier, this benefit
was announced on 5 June
after notification have been
introduced
In IT SEZs, the criterion of
mini mum l and area of 10
hectares has been done away
Zero Duty Export Promotion
Capital Goods (EPCG) Scheme
Foreign Trade Policy has two
variants under this scheme, Zero
Duty EPCG for few sectors and 3%
Duty EPCG for all sectors. On 5 June
2012, a new Post Export EPCG
Scheme was also announced which
was notified on 18 February 2013 by
the CBEC. Now the Uni on
Government has decided to merge
the Zero Duty EPCG and 3% EPCG
Scheme into one scheme and make
i t a Zero Duty EPCG Scheme
covering all sectors.
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2012 i n respect of uni ts
l ocated i n North Eastern
Region and Sikkim and the
same provision is now being
extended to J&K.
Widening of
Interest Subvention Scheme
Presentl y there exi sts
availability of 2% i nterest
subvention scheme to certain
speci fi c sectors l i ke
Handi crafts, Handl ooms,
Carpets, Readymade
Garments, Processed
Agricultural Products, Sports
Goods and Toys. The scheme
had been further widened to
include 134 sub-sectors of
engi neeri ng sector.
Government had al so
announced that the benefit of
this scheme of 2% interest
subvention could be available
up to 31 March 2014
Items covered under the
Chapter 63 of ITC (HS) (other
made up textile articles, sets,
rags) and additional specified
tari ff li nes of engineeri ng
sector i tems under the
scheme have al so been
included in the scheme by
widening its provisions
Widening the Scope of Utilization
of Duty Credit Scrip
Duty Credit Scrips issued
under Focus Market Schemes,
Focus Product Scheme and
Vishesh Krishi Gramin Udyog
Yojana (VKGUY) can be used
for payment of service tax on
procurement of servi ces
within the legal framework of
servi ce tax exempti on
noti fi cati ons under the
Finance Act, 1994. Holder of
the scrip shall be entitled to
avail drawback or CENVAT
credi t of the servi ce tax
debited in the scrips as per
Department of Revenue rules.
All duty credit scrips issued
under Chapter 3 can be
uti l i zed for payment of
application fee to DGFT for
obtaining any authorization
under Foreign Trade Policy.
This benefit shall be available
only to the original duty credit
scrip holders. Duty credit
scrip can also be paid for
payment of composition fee
and for payment of val ue
shortfalls in EO under para
4. 28 (b) of Hand Book of
Procedure Vol. 1.
Market and Product
Diversification
Norway has been added
under Focus Market Scheme
and Venezuel a has been
added under Special Focus
Market Scheme. The total
number of countries under
Focus Market Scheme and
Special Focus Market Scheme
becomes 125 and 50
respectively.
Approxi matel y, 126 new
products have been added
under Focus Product Scheme.
These products include items
from engineering, electronics,
chemicals, pharmaceuticals
and textiles sector.
About 47 new products have
been added under Market
Linked Focus Product Scheme
(MLFPS). These products are
from engi neeri ng, auto
components and texti l es
sector. 2 new countries i.e.,
Brunei and Yemen have been
added as new markets under
MLFPS.
MLFPS is being extended from
01.04.2013 to 31.03.2014 for
exports to USA and EU in
respect of items falling in
Chapter 61 and Chapter 62 of
ITC (HS).
Exports of Hi gh Tech
products would be incentived
and it would be separately
notified by 30th June, 2013.
The towns of Morbi (Gujarat)
and Gurgaon (Haryana) have
been added to the existing list
of towns of export excellence
for ceramic tiles and apparel
exports respectively. These
towns shall be eligible to get
benefit under ASIDE Scheme.
Incremental Exports
Incentivisation Scheme
Government has announced
Incremental Export
Incentivisation Scheme on 26
December 2012 for the
exports made during January
2013 to March 2013. Thi s
scheme i s avai l abl e for
exports made to USA, EU and
Asia. It has been agreed to
extend this scheme for the
year 2013-14. The calculation
of the benefit shall be on
annual basis under the
extended scheme.
The Government has also
agreed to include additional
countries under Incremental
Exports Incenti vi sati on
Scheme. 53 countries of Latin
America and Africa have been
added with the objective to
increase Indias share in these
markets. The present exports
to each of these markets are
less than US $ 100 million.
Changes have been introduced in
many other schemes and they are
Facil i ty to close cases of
default in Export Obligation
Served from India Scheme
(SFIS)
VKGUY Scheme
Status Hol der Incenti ve
Scheme (SHIS)
Re-credit of 4% SAD
Duty Free Import
Authorization Scheme (DFIA)
Import of Cars
Improvement in quality and
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timeliness of Foreign Trade
Data
Second Task Force on
Transacti on Cost i n
International Trade
Electronic Data Interchange
Initiatives
Ease of Documentation and
procedural simplification
Widening of items eligible for
import for Handloom/Made
ups and Sports Goods
WTO Slashed Trade Growth
Forecast for 2013 to 3.3 Percent
The World Trade Organization
(WTO) on 10 April 2013 slashed the
forecast of global trade by 1.2
percent to 3. 3 percent from
previous 4.5 percent. The WTO
called up for strengthening the trade
via multilateral system to ensure
trade emerges as the engine of
growth. WTO also informed that the
trade growth of the world slowed
to 2 percent in the year 2012 from
the previous year 2011 rate of 5.2
percent. As per the details provided,
the trade growth rate of the world
is likely to remain low in 2013 as the
economi c sl owdown of the
European Countri es was
suppressing the global import.
Merchandi se Trade: The
forecast of merchandise trade for
2013 is 3.3 percent and this is below
the average of 20 years from 1992
to 2012, i.e. 5.3 percent
Trade Forecast 2013: The WTO
made a forecast of 2.1 percent
growth in world output and it
depends upon the sovereign debt
crisis in Europe
In 2012 the World Growth Rate
was measured to be 2 percent but
have gone down from 5.2 percent
that was recorded in 2011.
IMF Slashed World Growth
Forecast to 3.3 percent for the
Year 2013
International Monetary Fund
(IMF) in its latest assessment of the
United States. Slow growth in
countries like Russia, Brazil, China
and Indi a is also a reason for
economic weakness. The global
economy survived from the crash
after defuse of the two largest short
term threats to the recovery and they
were disintegration of the eurozone
and extreme budget cuts and tax
hikes in United States. The U.S
growth forecasted for the year 2013
is 1.9 percent and for Eurozone it is
0.3 percent. The measures adopted
by the world to get out of the
financial crisis have been failing due
to the bad debt and weak capital
hobbled by the banks. Due to Bank
of Japans ambitious plan launched
to reflate the economy, the IMF
upped its forecast for the country
to 1.6 percent from initial 1.2
percent.
Statement from World Economic
Outlook Report of IMF
IMF i n i ts WEO Report
suggested that the Global prospects
have improved again but the road
to recovery i n the advanced
economies will remain bumpy.
ITPO Signed a MoU with
Government of India
Indi a Trade Promoti on
Organisation (ITPO) signed a
Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) with Government of India for
the year 2013-14 on 20 March 2013.
The MoU was signed between Rita
Menon, Chairperson and Managing
Director of ITPO and S R Rao,
Secretary, Ministry of Commerce &
Industry.
global economy released on 16
April 2013 revised its world growth
forecast for 2013 and slashed it to
3.3 percent from previous forecast
of 3.5 percent predicted in January
2013. IMF revised its forecast
because of the continued recession
in the Eurozone. The IMF also
forecasted that the economi c
growth will be on its pick by the
second half of the year. The slow
growth rate of the United States
region is also a region behind the
downgrade of the forecast. The
Chief Economist of IMF, Olivier
Blanchard warned that the fresh
bailout of Cyprus and weakness of
Italy could spark setbacks for the
international economy. IMF in its
assessment al so expressed
concerns over the gl obal
fragmentation of the dynamism of
the emerging economies and the
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Highlights of the MoU
The major highlight of the
MoU is the projected surplus
of Rs. 100 Crore by ITPO
during 2013-14.
The MoU laid down target for
investment proposal to be
submi tted for the
redevel opment of Pragati
Maidan into a modern and
state-of-the-art integrated
Exhibition-cum-Convention
Centre, to the Union Cabinet
for approval.
Certain other targets were also
included in the MoU and these
included 850 man-days of
training to its both senior and
other employees during 2013-
14 and reduction of electricity
water consumpti on by 5
percent and 10 percent
respectively.
To Revive Interest in SEZs of
Investors Government announced
Changes in FTP
The Annual Supplement 2013-
14 to Foreign Trade Policy (FTP)
2009-14 was announced on 18 April
2013 by the Union Minister for
Commerce, Industry and Textiles,
Anand Sharma at Vigyan Bhawan,
New Delhi.
In the l atest Annual
Supplement 2013-14 the Union
Government has tried to implement
measures to revive the interest of the
investors in Social Economic Zones
(SEZs) as well as to boost exports.
Important features of the Package
are
The Government has reduced
the size of total land area
required for development of
SEZs to its half from its initial
requirement of minimum Land
Area of 100 hectares for
allowing the development of
SEZs. Now an investor needs
to have 50 hectares of land to
develop a SEZ. This has been
done in response to end the
difficulties being faced by the
investors in gaining collective
large area of uncultivable land
for setting up of the SEZ.
Graded Scale for Minimum
Land Cri teri a has been
introduced to permit the SEZ
an additional sector for each
contiguous 50 hectare parcel
of land. This has been done to
ensure flexibility in utilization
of the land tracts that falls
between the 50 to 450
hectares.
Fl exi bi l i ty is granted for
setting-up additional units in
a sector specific SEZ. This will
be done by i ntroduci ng
sectoral broad-banding to
encompass similar/related
areas under the same sector.
In context of Vacancy of Land:
the government has revised
the policy in existence that
allowed a parcel of land with
pre-existing structures but not
i n commerci al use to be
considered as a vacant land
and this was used with the
purpose of notifying it for a
SEZ. The new policy being
introduced is that pre-existing
structures and activities being
undertaken after notification
would be eligible for duty
benefits similar to any other
activity in the SEZ.
IT Exports constitute a very
significant part of Indias exports
and IT SEZs have a major
contribution in it. Exports from IT
SEZs during financial year 2012-13
have exceeded 1.40 lakh crore
rupees and it registered a growth of
over 70 percent, over the previous
years exports. The Government has
brought in new changes to boost
growth in the IT SEZ sector and to
encourage the employment
opportunities in Tier-II and Tier-III
cities.
Changes Implemented in IT
Exports
For development of IT SEZs,
the Government has done
away the cri teri on on
mini mum l and area of 10
hectares, maki ng it to no
minimum land requirement for
setting up an IT/ITES SEZ. The
SEZ developers will have to
meet up with the minimum
built in area requirement.
The criteria of requiring a
minimum build-up land area
has also been relaxed to a
greater extent. The
requi rement of one l akh
square meters is applicable in
7 major cities namely Mumbai,
Del hi (NCR), Chennai ,
Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune
and Kolkata. For the other
Category B cities 50000 square
meters and for remaining
ci ti es onl y 25000 square
meters built up area norm will
be applicable.
The SEZ policy Framework in
existence at present doesnt include
a pol icy of exi t but now the
Government permits, the transfer of
ownership of SEZ units, including
sale. The Government has also
introduced several schemes and
modified different policies as per
the requirements.
4065.81 Crore Rupees for Water
Pollution Control
India on 5 April 2013 sanctioned
4065.81 crore rupees for pollution
abatement schemes of rivers and
lakes in different states. Of all the
states, Uttar Pradesh received
1385.95 crore rupees. The sanction
cost of projects and expenditure
includes the State Governments
share under the National River
Conservation Programme (NRCP)
and the National Lake Conservation
Programme (NLCP).
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National Lake Conservation Plan
(NLCP)
National Lake Conservation
Plan (NLCP) started in June 2001
with a funding scheme of 70:30 fund
sharing between centre and state.
The main objective of the scheme
is to restore and conserve the urban
and semi-urban lakes of the country
degraded due to waste water
discharge into the lake and other
unique freshwater eco systems,
through an integrated ecosystem
approach.
National River Conservation
Programme (NRCP)
National River Conservation
Programme (NRCP) is the centrally
sponsored Scheme implemented by
the central Government jointly with
the State Government on a cost-
shari ng basi s. The poll ution
abatement works under NRCP
presently cover identified polluted
stretches of 39 major rivers in 185
towns spread over 20 States in the
country.
Highlights of PMEAC Economic
Review 2012-13
The Prime Ministers Economic
Advisory Council (PMEAC) under
the Chairmanship of C Rangarajan on
23 April 2013 presented the
Economic review 2012-13.
Find here the highlights of the
Economic Policy Review presented
by the Prime Ministers Economic
Advisory Council:
Indias economy is expected
to grow 6.4 percent in the new
financial year that began on 1
April 2013.
PMEAC pegged the WPI
inflation at around 6 percent
and food i nfl ati on, at 8
percent.
FY13 bank credit growth at
14.1% vs 17% in the year-ago
period. Bank credit growth
lower due to weak credit
demand & tight liquidity.
Net FDI at 18 billion dollars in
FY13. FII inflows at 24 billion
dollar in FY13 We expect net
FDI i nfl ow at 24 bi l l i on
dollars and FII at 18 billion
dollars for FY14
The fiscal deficit of the Centre
for 2012-13 is estimated to be
5.2% of GDP. It was 520924
crores Rupees in 2012-13 as
per revised estimates, and is
expected to be 542499 crores
Rupees i n 2013-14 as per
budget estimates.
Current Account Deficit is
estimated to be 94 billion
dollars (5.1% of GDP) in 2012-
13 and is projected to be 100
billion dollars (4.7% of GDP)
in 2013-14.
Merchandise trade deficit is
estimated to be 200 billion
dollars (10.9% of the GDP) in
2012-13 and is projected to be
213 billion dollars (9.9% of
GDP) in 2013-14.
Net invisibles earnings are
estimated to be 105.8 billion
dollars (5.7 % of GDP) in 2012-
13 and are projected to be 113
billion dollars (5.3 % of GDP)
in 2013-14.
It is estimated that for 2012-
13 the net inflow of FDI was
18 billion dollars (26 billion
inbound and 8 billion dollars
outbound). For 2013-14 EAC
has projected higher inbound
flows of the order of 36 billion
dollars. Outbound FDI is also
expected to i ncrease,
resulting in net FDI inflow of
24 billion dollars.
FII inflows were weak in the
first quarter of 2012-13, but
picked up in the second and
third quarters. For the year as
a whole, portfolio inflows are
estimated to be close to $24
billion. Portfolio capital flows
are projected to be 18 billion
dollars in 2013-14.
The total inflows under the
head of loans are estimated to
be about 30 billion dollars in
2012-13. Thi s compri ses
mostly of external commercial
borrowings (ECBs) and short-
term loans. The projected
fi gure for 2013-14 i s $36
billion.
The total banki ng capital
i nfl ows for 2012-13 are
estimated to be $24 billion
and are projected to be at 22
billion dollars for 2013-14.
Reserve Bank of India to Start
Plastic Money Project on Trial
Basis
The Reserve Bank of India on
16 April 2013 announced that it
would start the introduction of
Plastic Notes in the market on trial
basis. The announcement was made
by the Deputy Governor of RBI, K.C.
Chakrabarty in Mangalore. The
Deputy Governor i n hi s
announcement informed that the
Central Bank would launch the
plastic notes the denomination of 10
rupees and will continue with other
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small denominations depending
upon the success of these notes. The
introduction of the scheme would
start on a trial basis following the
mandate of the Union Government
to i ntroduce pl asti c/pol ymer
currency notes of 10 rupees on a
field trial in five cities of India. The
date for launch of the Plastic Notes
was not cleared by the Bank.
NEEPCO granted Miniratna
Category1 Status
North Eastern Electric Power
Corporati on (NEEPCO) was
conferred with the Miniratna
Category 1 status by the President
of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 8
April 2013. NEEPCO was earlier the
schedule A Corporation.
Status of Category-I
Miniratna Firms
Category-I Miniratna firms can
incur the capital expenditure on
modernization, new projects as well
as equipment purchase without the
approval of the Government, up to
500 crore Rupees. The Category-II
Miniratna firms, on the other hand,
have the fi nancial freedom of
spending up to 300 crore Rupees or
50 percent of total net worth,
whichever out of these is lower.
NEEPCOs status after being
conferred with Miniratna
Category 1
NEEPCO was i ni tial ly the
schedule A Corporation. After
bei ng elevated to Mi ni ratna
Category 1 status, NEEPCO will
have autonomy to take the
investment decisions freely without
the consent of Ministry of Power.
About NEEPCO
NEEPCO plays a crucial role
in the power sector of North
East region. it serves around
50 percent power
requirement of this region.
By 2018, NEEPCO has plans to
add 2300 MW of power
through the thermal and hydro
projects.
At present, NEEPCO executes
5 projects in North East region
with total installed capacity of
917 MW.
List of Maharatna, Navratna and
Miniratna CPSEs
Maharatna CPSEs
1. Bharat Heavy El ectri cal s
Limited
2. Coal India Limited
3. GAIL (India) Limited
4. Indian Oil Corporation Limited
5. NTPC Limited
6. Oil & Natural Gas Corporation
Limited
7. Steel Authori ty of Indi a
Limited
Navratna CPSEs
1. Bharat Electronics Limited
2. Bharat Petroleum Corporation
Limited
3. Hi ndustan Aeronauti cs
Limited
4. Hi ndustan Petrol eum
Corporation Limited
5. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam
Limited
6. National Aluminium Company
Limited
7. NMDC Limited
8. Neyveli Lignite Corporation
Limited
9. Oil India Limited
10. Power Finance Corporation
Limited
11. Power Grid Corporation of
India Limited
12. Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited
13. Rural El ectri fi cati on
Corporation Limited
14. Shipping Corporation of India
Limited
Miniratna Category - I CPSEs
1. Airports Authority of India
2. Antrix Corporation Limited
3. Balmer Lawrie & Co. Limited
4. Bharat Dynamics Limited
5. BEML Limited
6. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited
7. Bri dge & Roof Company
(India) Limited
8. Central Warehousi ng
Corporation
9. Central Coalfields Limited
10. Chennai Petrol eum
Corporation Limited
11. Cochin Shipyard Limited
12. Container Corporation of India
Limited
13. Dredging Corporation of India
Limited
14. Engineers India Limited
15. Ennore Port Limited
16. Garden Reach Shipbuilders &
Engineers Limited
17. Goa Shipyard Limited
18. Hindustan Copper Limited
19. HLL Lifecare Limited
20. Hindustan Newsprint Limited
21. Hindustan Paper Corporation
Limited
22. Housi ng & Urban
Development Corporati on
Limited
23. India Tourism Development
Corporation Limited
24. Indian Railway Catering &
Tourism Corporation Limited
25. IRCON International Limited
26. KIOCL Limited
27. Mazagaon Dock Limited
28. Mahanadi Coalfields Limited
29. Manganese Ore (Indi a)
Limited
30. Mangal ore Refi nery &
Petrochemical Limited
31. Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited
32. MMTC Limited
33. MSTC Limited
34. National Fertilizers Limited
35. National Seeds Corporation
Limited
36. NHPC Limited
37. Northern Coalfields Limited
38. Numaligarh Refinery Limited
39. ONGC Videsh Limited
40. Pawan Hans Hel i copters
Limited
41. Projects & Development India
Limited
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42. Railtel Corporation of India
Limited
43. Rashtri ya Chemi cal s &
Fertilizers Limited
44. RITES Limited
45. SJVN Limited
46. Security Printing and Minting
Corporation of India Limited
47. South Eastern Coal fi el ds
Limited
48. State Trading Corporation of
India Limited
49. T e l e c o mmu n i c a t i o n s
Consultants India Limited
50. THDC India Limited
51. Western Coalfields Limited
52. WAPCOS Limited
Miniratna Category-II CPSEs
53. Bharat Pumps & Compressors
Limited
54. Broadcast Engi neeri ng
Consultants (I) Limited
55. Central Mi ne Pl anni ng &
Design Institute Limited
56. Ed.CIL (India) Limited
57. Engineering Projects (India)
Limited
58. FCI Aravali Gypsum &
Minerals India Limited
59. Ferro Scrap Nigam Limited
60. HMT (International) Limited
61. HSCC (India) Limited
62. Indi a Trade Promoti on
Organisation
63. Indi an Medi ci nes &
Pharmaceuticals Corporation
Limited
64. M E C O N Limited
65. National Film Development
Corporation Limited
66. Nati onal Smal l Industri es
Corporation Limited
67. P E C Limited
68. Raj asthan El ectroni cs &
Instruments Limited
FCI Raised 5000 Crore Rupees by
Issuing Taxable Bonds
The Food Corporation of India
(FCI) raised 5000 crore Rupees by
issuing taxable bonds backed by
Government of India Guarantee in
order to meet the additi onal
working capital requirement. The
issue of bonds was opened on 21
March 2013 and closed on 22 March
2013. These bonds are of two
tenures- 10 years (300 crore Rupees)
and 15 years (4700 crore Rupees).
The coupon rate for 10 years was
8.62 percent per annum and 8.80
percent per annum for 15 years.
Food Corporation of India (FCI) has
the Cash Credi t Li mi t wi th
Consortium of 62 banks.
At present, the Cash Credit
Limit is 54495 crore Rupees which
is secured by mortgaging entire
stock of FCI and guaranteed by
Government of India. At present, the
interest rate on Cash Credit Limit is
10.79 percent monthly whi ch
eventually translates into 11.34 on
annual basis. Annual interest saving
through issue of this bond will be
127.54 crore Rupees.
CCEA approved Four
Laning of Jorhat to
Demow section of NH-37
Economic Affairs gave its approval
for the four laning of the Jorhat-
Demow secti on of Nati onal
Highway-37 in the state of Assam
under the Special Accelerated Road
Development Programme in North
Eastern Region (SARDP-NE) Phase
A on Design, Bui ld, Finance,
Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis
in Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT)
(Annuity) mode of delivery. The cost
is estimated to be 874.69 crore
rupees excluding land acquisition
and other pre-constructi on
activities. The total length of road
wil l be 80 ki lometres
approximately. The project will
expedi te the i mprovement of
infrastructure in the state of Assam
and also reduce the time and cost
of travel for traffic, particularly heavy
traffic, plying between Guwahati to
Dibrugarh and Nagaon to Dibrugarh.
It will also increase employment
potential for local labourers for
project activities. The project is
covered in the districts of Golaghat,
Jorhat, Sivsagar and Dibrugarh and
passes through the towns of
Numaligarh, Dergaon, Jorhat, Jhanji,
Gorisagar, Sivsagar, Demow, Sapan,
Maran and Dibrugarh.
CCI slapped fine of 8000 Crore
rupees in 19 Cases
Competition Commission of
India (CCI) penalised 19 business
enti ties for anti -competi ti ve
practices collectively for around
8000 crore Rupees by the end of
financial year 2012-13. It was figured
out as on 31 March 2013 that CCCI
had received 347 cases regarding
vi ol ations of anti -competi ti ve
practi ces. Out of the 347
registered cases , the Commission
had closed 262 cases, while in 28
cases cease and desist orders have
been passed, also in other 19 cases,
total penalties of 8013 crore rupees
was imposed along with cease and
desi st orders. In vi ew of the
Competition Act, the CCI has got the
authori ty to issue cease and
desi st order to abstai n the
company from pursuing any anti-
competitive practices. Also in
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another major upshot a total of 55.67
crore rupees of undisbursed funds
in the last fiscal have been credited
to Consolidated Fund of India. It was
calculated that during the 2001-
2012, a sum of 637.17 crore rupees
had been credited to the
Consolidated Fund of India. To deal
with the i ssue of credi t i n an
effecti ve way, the Union
government has establ i shed
Investor Education and Protection
Funds (IEPF) by which unclaimed
funds on account of dividends,
matured deposits, matured
debentures and share application
money are transferred to the
government by the company on
completion of seven years.
National Workshop on Grid
Integration

The Mi ni ster for New &
Renewabl e Energy, Farooq
Abdullah inaugurated the National
Workshop on Grid Integration of
Renewable Energy Sources and
Energy Efficiency on 8 April 2013.
The workshop discussed the
important areas of clean energy
devel opment which are gri d
integration of renewable energy and
energy efficiency. The National
Workshop on Grid Integration of
Renewable Energy Sources and
Energy Efficiency was organised in
collaboration with United State
Department of Energy under the
United States 21st Century Power
Partnership initiative. Grid planning
i n the hi gh-renewabl e energy
penetration scenario is of strategic
importance. Also, development of
smart gri ds for enabling more
effi ci ent, resil i ent, and safe
distribution of power is another area
of action.
There are certain highlights
under the 21st Century Power
Partnership initiative, which are as
follows:
Devel opi ng & shari ng
knowledge on topic relating to
expansion of electricity sector
Strengtheni ng and
disseminating these tools to
accelerate this transformation
Improving the capacity of
experts and building expertis
Leveragi ng al l three-
knowl edge tool s and
experti se to i mprove our
policies
CCEA
Approved de-control of Sugar
Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 4 April
2013 decided to de-control sugar
and did away the levy on sugar mills
and regulated release mechanism.
This de-control will raise the subsidy
burden to 5300 crore rupees from
previous 2700 crore rupees. De-
control on sugar will not have an
impact on the sugar made available
i n the Publi c Di stri buti on
System. The de-control of sugar will
abolish the rule for sugar mills that
makes it mandatory for sugar millers
to sell sugar to the Government at a
discounted price as well as the
l imitation on the amount they
choose to sell in the open market .
13 Power Projects and 25 Oil &
Gas Blocks approved
Investment on 22 April 2013 cleared
13 power projects that involves
investment of 33000 crore rupees.
The proj ects on whi ch the
investments will be made include
one hydro and two thermal project
as wel l as ten transmi ssi on
projects. 25 oil and gas blocks with
investment commitment of about
seven billion US dollars also got
approval during the same meet. Of
these 16 blocks were given
conditional clearances, while nine
blocks were approved without any
condition.
Approval of these projects was
pending due to the objections
raised by the Ministry of Defence
over national security. During the
meet of Cabinet Committee on
Investment in New Delhi twenty
different power projects that await
clearances from the Uni on
Environment and Forest Ministry
were also reviewed. The meet was
headed by the Prime Minister of
India, Dr. Manmohan Singh.
Core Sector Growth Slumped by
2.5 Percent in February 2013
The production of eight core
sector industries decreased by 2.5
percent in the month of February
2013, for the first time in 2012-13
financi al year. Thi s happened
because of a decrease in the output
of natural gas. The biggest decline
happened in the natural gas sector
with more than 20 percent i n
February.
This was followed by coal (-8
percent), electricity generation (-4.1
percent) and crude oil (-4 percent).
The overall output growth of the
core sector i ndustri es was
witnessed at 7.7 percent in February
2012. Negative performance in
February 2013 di mini shed
cumulative growth in 11 months of
2012-13 FY ending February to 2.6
percent i n comparison to 5. 2
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percent during same period in 2011-
12 FY. Eight core industries include
electri city, cement, crude oil ,
finished steel, petroleum refinery
products, fertil i ser, coal and
electricity.
These industries have weight
of 37.9 percent in Index of Industrial
Production (IIP). During February
2013, fertiliser output decreased by
4 percent in comparison to 4.1
percent growth in February 2012.
Cement output increased by 3.9
percent i n comparison to 9. 8
percent in February 2012. Petroleum
refinery output increased by 4.3
percent in comparison to 6 percent
in February 2012. Steel production
i ncreased by 0. 5 percent i n
compari son to 8. 7 percent i n
February 2012. In January 2013,
these core industries increased by
3.1 percent.
Indian Railways Carried 1009.73
Million Tonnes of Freight during
Fiscal 2012-13
Indi an Rai lways carri ed
1009.73 million tonnes of revenue
earning freight traffic during the
financial year 2012-13 as per the
data rel eased by Mi ni stry of
Railways. The freight carried shows
an increase of 39.95 million tonnes
over the freight traffic of 969.78
million tonnes actually carried
during the corresponding period
last year, registering an increase of
4.12 per cent. During the month of
March 2013, the revenue earning
freight traffic carried by Indian
Railways was 98.20 million tonnes.
There is an increase of 4.35 million
tonnes over the actual freight traffic
of 93.85 million tonnes carried by
the Indian Railways during the same
peri od l ast year, showi ng an
increase of 4.64 per cent.
Foreign Tourist Arrivals in India
Increased by About 3 Percent
Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs)
showed a growth of 2.8 percent in
March 2013 over March 2012. The
growth rate in Foreign Exchange
Earnings (FEEs) from tourism in
Rupee terms in March 2013 over
March 2012 was 21percent. The
foll owing are the i mportant
highlights regarding FTAs and FEEs
from tourism during the month of
March, 2013.
Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs):
FTAs during the Month of
March 2013 were 6.40 lakh as
compared to FTAs of 6.23 lakh
during the month of March
2012 and 5.36 lakh in March
2011.
There has been a growth of 2.8
percent in March 2013 over
March 2012 as compared to a
growth of 16. 3 percent
registered in March 2012 over
March 2011.
FTAs duri ng the peri od
January-March 2013 were
20.27 lakh with a growth of 2.3
percent, as compared to the
FTAs of 19.81 lakh with a
growth of 10.9percent during
January-March 2012 over the
corresponding period of 2011.
Foreign Exchange Earnings
(FEEs) from Tourism in rupee
terms and US dollar terms
FEEs during the month of
March 2013 were Rs. 9,491
crore as compared to 7843
crore rupees in March 2012
and 5522 crore rupees i n
March 2011.
The growth rate in FEEs in
rupee terms in March 2013
over March 2012 was 21.0
percent as compared to 42.0
percent in March 2012 over
March 2011.
FEEs from tourism in rupee
terms during January-March
2013 were 30075 crore rupees
with a growth of 20.5 percent,
as compared to the FEE of
24968 crore rupees with a
growth of 31.7 percent during
FEEs in US dollar terms during
the month of March 2013 were
1. 75 bi lli on US dol lars as
compared to FEEs of 1.56
billion US dollars during the
month of March 2012 and 1.23
billion US dollars in March
2011.
The growth rate in FEEs in US
dollar terms in March 2013
over March 2012 was 11.9
percent as compared to the
growth of 27. 1 percent in
March 2012 over March 2011.
FEE from tourism in terms of
US dol lar during January-
March 2013 were 5.55 billion
US dollar with a growth of 11.6
percent, as compared to 4.97
billion US dollar with a growth
of 18. 9 percent duri ng
Ministry of Tourism compiles
monthly estimates of Foreign Tourist
Arrivals (FTAs) on the basis of data
received from major ports and
Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs)
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from tourism on the basis of data
received from Reserve Bank of India.
Union Government achieved
FY13 Revised Tax Collection
Target
Union government i n the
Month of March 2013 announced
that it has met i ts revi sed tax
collection target for 2012-13. With
this there is also possibility that the
tax collection may even exceed the
estimates because of better-than-
expected indirect tax collections.
Combining (direct and indirect tax
collections) the government met the
revised estimates. From the revenue
side a bit for fiscal consolidation
was done. However the final
numbers for direct taxes will be
known only after 20 April 2013. For
the year 2012-13, the Uni on
government had revised its direct
tax collections target to 5.65 lakh
crore Rupees from budget estimates
of 5.70 lakh crore Rupees. The
target for indirect taxes was revised
to 4.69 lakh crore rupees from
budget estimates of 5.05 lakh crore
Rupees.
It is also important here to note
that the fiscal deficit target for 2012-
13 of 5.2% of the gross domestic
product (GDP) has also been
achi eved. For 2013-14, budget
estimates for direct taxes and
indirect taxes are 6.68 lakh crore
Rupees and 5.65 lakh crore Rupees,
respectively.The number of tax
returns fil ed i n 2012-13 was
esti mated around 2. 15 crore
compared to 1.64 crore a year ago.
On 31March 2013 as many as 7.5
lakh tax returns were filed. The
government was trying its best to
implement the Goods and Services
Tax (GST) as early as possible.
What is Direct tax?
Direct tax is a tax paid directly
to the government by the persons
on whom it is imposed. Direct taxes
mainly comprise of corporate tax
and income tax. It is imposed upon
an individual person (juristic or
natural) or on property, as distinct
from a tax i mposed upon a
transaction.
What is Indirect tax?
An indirect tax can be referred
to taxes such as sales tax, a specific
tax, value added tax (VAT), or goods
and services tax (GST). It is a tax
collected by an intermediary (such
as a retail store) from the person
who bears the ultimate economic
burden of the tax (such as the
consumer).
CCEA approved Special
Infrastructure Scheme in LWE
affected States
Economic Affairs(CCEA) on 2 April
2013 approved the proposal of the
Mini stry of Home Affairs for
continuation of the Scheme for
Special Infrastructure (SIS) in Left
Wing Extremism (LWE) affected
states during the 12th Plan period.
The proposal includes an added
objective of upgradation and critical
gap filling of training infrastructure,
residential infrastructure, weaponry,
vehicles and any other related items
pertaining to Special Forces of LWE
affected states. The total cost would
be 373 crore rupees comprising 280
crore rupees as central government
share and 93 crore rupees as state
government share on a 75 (central):
25 (state) fundi ng pattern.The
scheme will enhance the security in
the region which would provide an
enabl ing envi ronment for
development. The scheme was
being implemented from the year
2008-09 with the broad objective to
adequately provide for critical
infrastructure requirements that are
critical to the policing and security
needs in the field, but are not
adequately or otherwise provided
for in any other scheme. During the
11th Pl an period 100 percent
funding was provided by the Central
Government to the 9 LWE affected
states for implementing various
projects under the scheme. The total
funds were released under the
scheme by the central government
to the 9 LWE affected states during
the 11th Plan period is 445.82 crore
rupees.
Government permitted Railways
to use its Land for Metro
Networks
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The Union Cabinet of India on
18 April 2013 gave its approval to
the proposal of the Indian Railways
for permitting use of its land for
crossing metro networks under
ground, on the surface as well as
elevated/over ground. The Indian
Railways will also allow opening of
Kendriya Vidyalayas on its land in
order to provide adequate
educational facilities to children of
railway staff/officials placed in
remote areas, and where
educational institutions are not
adequate. Exchange of railway land
with central/state governments,
department/local bodies for setting
up public utilities shall also be
entered into by the Indian Railways,
wherever considered mutual ly
beneficial.
for
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Science & Technology Science & Technology Science & Technology Science & Technology Science & Technology
Science & Technology
Device to detect Gastro-Intestinal Device to detect Gastro-Intestinal Device to detect Gastro-Intestinal Device to detect Gastro-Intestinal Device to detect Gastro-Intestinal
Cancers Cancers Cancers Cancers Cancers
Scientists developed a
prototype of an advanced multi-
bending cholangioscope to detect
and cure Gastro-Intestinal Cancers.
Earlier, most patients used to visit a
physician when the disease was in
an advanced stage. This new
equipment has a video camera and
can bend easily. It could detect
cancers of bile duct, liver and
pancreas. It will help in detecting
the disease in early stage. The multi-
bending peroral direct
cholangioscope (PDCS) cannot be
inserted free-hand into the bile duct.
But a high success rate of direct
insertion will be achieved if the
endoscope is passed over a guide-
wire and an anchoring balloon. In
fact, pancreatic cancer is the third
most prevalent gastro-intestinal
cancer in India whereas liver cancer
is the most common.
Kepler Mission Discovered 2 Kepler Mission Discovered 2 Kepler Mission Discovered 2 Kepler Mission Discovered 2 Kepler Mission Discovered 2
Earth-Like Planets Earth-Like Planets Earth-Like Planets Earth-Like Planets Earth-Like Planets
Around 1200 light years away
from Earth, there are five planets
which are circling around the sun-
like star called Kepler-62 in Lyra
constellation, according to the latest
discovery made by the scientists by
making use of Kepler space
telescope of NASA. Two of these
planets, named Kepler-62f and
Kepler-62e are said to be in such a
position that they might have water
on their surface, a condition which
is necessary to support life. Kepler
scientist William Borucki, with
NASAs Ames Research Center in
California explained that this is
strongest evidence of the existence
of Earth-sized planets in the stars
habitable zone. These two new
Earth-like planets are outermost pair
which is circling the Kepler-62
star. The most distant planet is
Kepler-62f, which is around 1.4
times as huge as that of Earths size.
It can orbit its parent star in 267
days. Other Earth-like planet called
Kepler-62e is 1.6 times as big as the
size of Earth and it orbits around the
star in 122 days. However, whether
one of these or both these plants
have water on their surface or not is
beyond the Keplers technical
capabilities or the capabilities of any
other telescope. This is so because
Kepler actually works by checking
the slight dips in light which come
from the star that is caused by the
planet passing by. Checking the
information is very cumbersome
process. Every downloaded data
from Kepler has 18000 events of
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interests to the scientists. It is
important to note that the scientists
are still studying the Kepler-62,
which means that there might be
chances of existence of other
planets that have longer orbital
periods. Earlier, the Kepler team
discovered a star that had six
planets in its orbit. European
researchers on the other hand had
made use of various telescopes to
discover seven-planet system.
H7N9 silently spreads in humans H7N9 silently spreads in humans H7N9 silently spreads in humans H7N9 silently spreads in humans H7N9 silently spreads in humans
and birds and birds and birds and birds and birds
The novel H7N9 avian flu virus
that is currently circulating in certain
regions in China has bewildered
public health officials within and
outside the country. To start with,
H7N9 is a product of reassortment
of three avian influenza virus strains
that infect only birds.
Reassortment happens when gene
swapping takes place between two
or more viruses present at the same
time in a host. The influenza, which
was initially restricted to Shanghai
and neighbouring regions, has now
reached Beijing two people have
so far been infected with the virus.
Till date, 77 people have been
infected and 16 have died. But this
number may be a gross
underestimation of the actual
spread of the infection. Therein
begin the many puzzling and
worrying characteristics of the bird
flu. Unlike the initial cases where the
infection proved to be deadly, cases
now being detected have wide
ranging virulence. A 4-year-old boy
has been tested positive for the virus
on April 15, but shows no symptoms
of infection. This is the first time that
an asymptomatic case has been
found. Unlike other avian flu
infections and initial H7N9 infection
cases, people appear to exhibit the
entire range of infection critical,
mild and completely asymptomatic.
According to Gregory Hartl, Head of
such cases that have not been
identified and reported. Reduced
virulence may be facilitating further
genetic adaptation of the virus to
infection of human beings and
thus greater potential to spread.
According to a paper published on
Apri l 11 i n The New England
Journal of Medicine, genome
sequencing of the first three cases
of H7N9 infected people who died
revealed that it is better adapted
than other bird flu viruses to
infecting mammals.
But the peculiar feature of the
virus is that it causes only
asymptomatic or mild disease even
in birds. This allows the virus to
silently spread among birds. The
reason for this is now clear: the
NEJM study indicated that the
haemmagglutinin sequence data is
associated with low pathogenicity
in birds. In the case of H5N1, birds
falling sick after infection were
clearly seen, and this helped in
knowing the spread of the infection.
Exacerbating this enigma is not
knowing which animals act as viral
hosts. This is despite intense
surveillance of animals to find out
the reservoirs. We cant be 100 per
cent sure how anyone has
contracted H7N9. Many patients
had contact with poultry, but not all.
So [it is] still a puzzle, Hartl of WHO
tweeted on April 13. According to
reports, about 40 per cent of
infected people have had no
contact with poultry.
The routes of transmission
from animals to humans are not fully
known either. But the NEJM paper
provides certain clues. An amino
acid substitution in H7N9 may
facilitate transmission through
respiratory droplets, just the way the
highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu
spread from birds to humans.
Genome sequence of the first three
cases showed that there have been
at least two introductions from
Media for WHO, the current H7N9
case fatality rate is approximately
20 per cent, and may end up even
lower if the actual number of
infected people is known.
Widespread?
But knowing the denominator
is the biggest challenge. This is
because, the presence of
asymptomatic and mild cases raises
the real possibility that the virus may
be more widespread than believed
and difficult to find. Though people
with mild/asymptomatic infection
may not be dying, such cases are, in
fact, very worrying,
notes Nature . According to WHO,
there is no way of knowing whether
the number of cases identified
represents some or all of the cases
actually occurring. The occurrence
of some relatively mild cases raises
the possibility that there are other
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animals to humans. Another peculiar
aspect is that the number of people
infected with H7N9 shot up from 24
to 63 within a short span of seven
days. A reported increase of 14
infected cases on April 16 was the
biggest ever for a single day. Though
sustained human-to-human
transmission has not been found,
two such suspicious cases have
been found. We are not near a
H7N9 pandemic yet but we need to
understand better how the virus
works in order to control the
outbreak, Hartl tweeted. It is
premature to dismiss the possibility
of an H7N9 pandemic or to say the
outbreak is under control.
The Plan to Build Worlds largest The Plan to Build Worlds largest The Plan to Build Worlds largest The Plan to Build Worlds largest The Plan to Build Worlds largest
Telescope approved by the US Telescope approved by the US Telescope approved by the US Telescope approved by the US Telescope approved by the US
Government Government Government Government Government
The US government approved
the plan to build the worlds largest
telescope at the summit of Hawaiis
Mauna Kea volcano. The telescope
could observe planets that orbit
stars other than the sun and enable
astronomers to observe new planets
and stars being formed. It will also
help scientists understand the early
years of the universe. The primary
mirror used in the telescope is
nearly 100 feet tall. It will enable nine
times the collecting area of the
largest optical telescopes
functioning at present. Its images
will also be three times brighter.
There are protests against the plan
arguing it would defile the
mountains sacred summit. Native
Hawaiian tradition considers high
altitudes as sacred and a gateway to
heaven. Environmentalists are also
protesting on the grounds that
would harm habitat for the rare
wekiu bug. The University of
California system, the Association of
Canadian Universities and the
California Institute of Technology for
Research in Astronomy are leading
the telescope project. India, China
and Japan have joined the project
as partners.
A Giant Galaxy called HFLS3 A Giant Galaxy called HFLS3 A Giant Galaxy called HFLS3 A Giant Galaxy called HFLS3 A Giant Galaxy called HFLS3
discovered discovered discovered discovered discovered
Scientists in the third week of
April 2013 discovered a giant galaxy
called HFLS3 in the Universe which
is 12.8 Billion light years away from
Earth. The newly found galaxy is
believed to produce 3000 Suns
every year. It has stars having a total
mass nearly 40 billion times the mass
of our Sun. The galaxy is shrouded
in a dust cloud which is 100 billion
times the mass of Sun. The age of
the galaxy has been estimated
around 800 million years old which
makes it as one of the youngest
galaxies in the Universe. The
astronomers used 12 orbiting and
ground-based telescopes to
discover HFLS3. The galaxy was
described as a maximum star-burst
galaxy due to its prodigious star
formation rate.
UK Scientists produced a UK Scientists produced a UK Scientists produced a UK Scientists produced a UK Scientists produced a
Disease-Resistant Piglet called Disease-Resistant Piglet called Disease-Resistant Piglet called Disease-Resistant Piglet called Disease-Resistant Piglet called
Pig-26 Pig-26 Pig-26 Pig-26 Pig-26
Scientists produced a disease-
resistant piglet called Pig-26 using a
new technique which is more
simple than cloning, paving way for
genetically modified meat. The new
technique is called gene editing and
Pig 26 is the first animal to be
created through gene editing. It was
born in December 2012 at
Edinburghs Roslin Institute, where
the cloned sheep Dolly was created
in the year 1996.
The Special features of new The Special features of new The Special features of new The Special features of new The Special features of new
technique are as following technique are as following technique are as following technique are as following technique are as following:
Pig 26 was created through a
process called gene editing.
It is faster and more efficient
than other methods.
It is immune to African swine
fever which can kill within 24
hours.
The new scientific
development could bring GM
meat a step closer.
India and US agreed for Future India and US agreed for Future India and US agreed for Future India and US agreed for Future India and US agreed for Future
Cooperation in Moon and Mars Cooperation in Moon and Mars Cooperation in Moon and Mars Cooperation in Moon and Mars Cooperation in Moon and Mars
Missions Missions Missions Missions Missions
India and the US in the Month
of March 2013 agreed for
cooperation on future missions to
the Moon and Mars after successful
collaboration inChandrayaan- Chandrayaan- Chandrayaan- Chandrayaan- Chandrayaan-
1 11 11 lunar mission. The highly
successful Chandrayaan-1 lunar
mission which was launched by the
Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO) in October 2008 led to strong
evidence of the presence of lunar
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water. So, In light of the
Chandrayaan-1 lunar mission NASA
and ISRO agreed to explore further
cooperative space exploration
work, including future missions to
the Moon and Mars. The scientist
from both the working group of
Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO) and National Aeronautical
and Space Administration (NASA)
agreed to continue discussions in
planetary science and Heliophysics
to identify areas of potential
cooperation. The value of mutual
cooperation was well reflected, it
can be supported from the fact that
with the addition of two NASA
instruments on the successful
Chandrayaan-1 lunar mission, led to
significant discoveries about lunar
surface characteristics. The existing
cooperation, in the use of US and
Indian earth observation satellite
data, helped in producing
information yielding a broad range
of societal benefits including
improved weather and monsoon
forecasting, disaster management
and response, improved agricultural
and natural resource use and better
understanding of climate change.
Researchers Found Gene Researchers Found Gene Researchers Found Gene Researchers Found Gene Researchers Found Gene
Mutation Associated With Fatal Mutation Associated With Fatal Mutation Associated With Fatal Mutation Associated With Fatal Mutation Associated With Fatal
Prostate Cancer Prostate Cancer Prostate Cancer Prostate Cancer Prostate Cancer
Researchers at the Institute of
Cancer Research in London and the
Royal Marsden NHS Foundation
Trust revealed that men suffering
from prostate cancer and the
inherited gene mutation have worst
kinds of ailments. The gene called
BRCA2 is associated with hereditary
breast cancer and also the ovarian
and prostate cancer. Researchers
revealed that men having BRCA2
gene are more prone to prostate
cancer and it was also revealed that
they are likely to have an aggressive
form of tumour with poor survival
rates. Men like these needed
immediate treatment for survival. It
was also revealed that one out of
100 men suffering from prostate
cancer might have BRCA2 mutation.
For men like these, immediate
radiotherapy or surgery can work,
even in the cases where the disease
is in its infancy.
About Prostate Cancer
Prostate Cancer is a men-
typical ailment which is very
difficult to predict at the early
stage.
The disease grows at a very
slow or very fast pace.
It is difficult to detect Prostate
Cancer because a lot of men
can live with the disease
without showing any signs of
this disease.
Over 40000 men are
diagnosed with prostate
cancer on an yearly basis.
For a lot of men suffering from
Prostate Cancer, treatment is
not required immediately.
However, researchers
revealed that men, who have
BRCA2 gene along with
prostate cancer, should be
treated immediately because
in their case tumour spreads
at a faster pace.
Prof Ros Eeles and his
colleagues at The Institute of Cancer
Research in London and The Royal
Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
revealed that men with BRCA2 gene
should be treated faster because of
the greater degree of fatality. In the
research, records of these prostate
cancer patients were studied. 61
men having BRCA2 gene and 18 men
having BRCA1 gene mutation along
with 1940 men with none of these
mutations were studied. It was clear
after the study that men with
BRCA2-mutations had less survival
chances. These men lived an
average of 6.5 years after the
diagnosis in comparison to 12.9
years for the non-carriers of this
mutation. It is worth noticing that
people who have a family history of
ovarian or breast cancer along with
prostate cancer can go for BRCA1/2
testing at diagnosis. Nevertheless,
this testing is not offered to all the
patients diagnosed with prostate
cancer in UK.
US Government launched a New US Government launched a New US Government launched a New US Government launched a New US Government launched a New
Research Initiative Called BRAIN Research Initiative Called BRAIN Research Initiative Called BRAIN Research Initiative Called BRAIN Research Initiative Called BRAIN
US government on 3 April 2013
announced a new research initiative
called Brain (Brain Research through
Advancing Innovative
Neurotechnologies) which is
designed to revolutionise the
understanding of the human brain.
Launched with approximately 100
million US dollars in the Presidents
Fiscal Year 2014 Budget, the BRAIN
initiative ultimately aims to help
researchers find new ways to treat,
cure, and even prevent brain
disorders, such as Alzheimers
disease, epilepsy, and traumatic
brain injury. The BRAIN Initiative will
accelerate the development and
application of new technologies that
will enable researchers to produce
dynamic pictures of the brain that
show how individual brain cells and
complex neural circuits interact at
the speed of thought. The scientists
possess the capability to study
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individual neurons and figure out
the main functions of certain areas
of the brain, but a human brain
contains almost a hundred billion
neurons making trillions of
connections.
Hobbit Humans Had Larger Hobbit Humans Had Larger Hobbit Humans Had Larger Hobbit Humans Had Larger Hobbit Humans Had Larger
Brains Than Estimated: Research Brains Than Estimated: Research Brains Than Estimated: Research Brains Than Estimated: Research Brains Than Estimated: Research
Hobbit Humans, who are said
to be the tiny creatures living on
remote Indonesian island of Flores
till around 12000 years ago, had
larger brains than thought, as per the
recent research conducted by
National Museum of Nature and
Science in Tokyo. This research also
strengthened the fact that hobbits
evolved from the ancestors Homo
erectus. Homo erectus, are said to
have evolved into our species in
Africa. The study revealed that
environment as well as location
could have created the difference
between the individual who looked
similar to us, and someone who
looked familiar to hobbit. The
Hobbit Humans were extremely
short in height (36") and they had
relatively shorter legs in comparison
to their feet and arms. Kaifu, a
senior researcher at the National
Museum of Nature and Science in
Tokyo who conducted the study
along with lead author Daisuke Kubo
and Reiko Kono, made use of high-
resolution micro-CT scanning in
order to study about the brain
regions of hobbit human skulls. In
the scans, it was found out that the
brains measured 426 cc in
comparison to estimated 400 cc.
426 cc is just around the same size
like the brain of a
chimpanzee. However, this study
indicated that the difference meant
it was possible for the Homo erectus
to have evolved from the brains like
these. The researchers indicated
towards the fact that Homo erectus
who lived on the mainland, moved
to the isolated islands of Flores. The
unique evolution of the Hobbits
suggested that once they got on the
island, they did not move out. The
researchers explained that
according to the theory, big
mammals decrease and small
mammals increase in their body
sizes on the isolated island due to
energetic demands. Dean Falk, the
team of whom estimated that
Hobbits brain were smaller,
explained that the new
measurements were the most
precise ones available till date. This
is so because these measurements
were done with great care and
improved and advanced methods.
Heaviest Rocket Heaviest Rocket Heaviest Rocket Heaviest Rocket Heaviest Rocket
Launch in 2014: ISRO Launch in 2014: ISRO Launch in 2014: ISRO Launch in 2014: ISRO Launch in 2014: ISRO
Indias heaviest rocket ever is
expected to take to the sky next
January on an experimental flight
whose later versions could be used
to send humans on space missions.
The mainstay of the
Geosynchronous Satellite Launch
Vehicle Mark III (GSLV-Mk III)
would be to put in orbit
communication satellites weighing
between four and five tonnes, thus
packing more transponders per
launch. We are targeting an
experimental flight of GSLV-Mk III
in January 2014, Indian Space
Research Organisation (ISRO)
Chairman K. Radhakrishnan told
reporters after a public lecture at the
Indian National Science Academy
(INSA) here. This will also be a first
time that ISRO scientists would
undertake an experimental flight of
a launch vehicle which would fall
into the sea after reaching a height
of 120 km. We have been simulating
the flight using computers. But there
are certain tests that cannot be
carried out on the ground. We will
test the rocket in a cost effective
manner, GSLV-Mk IIIs project
director S. Somnath said.
He said ISRO engineers have
planned to take some 2,000
measurements during the
experimental flight of the GSLV-Mk
III, which would weigh 640 tonnes
at lift-off, making it the heaviest
rocket built in the country. All the
2000 measurements during the flight
would be telemetred down to the
ground station. We will analyse
them. This will enable us to have full
knowledge of the flight, Somnath
said. The new rocket, which can put
a four tonne satellite in orbit, will
help Antrix Corporation, ISROs
commercial arm, to offer cheapest
space launches in the niche market.
High Level Working Group High Level Working Group High Level Working Group High Level Working Group High Level Working Group
Presented Report on Western Presented Report on Western Presented Report on Western Presented Report on Western Presented Report on Western
Ghats to MoEF Ghats to MoEF Ghats to MoEF Ghats to MoEF Ghats to MoEF
The 10-member High Level
Working Group (HLWG) headed by
K Kasturirangan presented report on
Western Ghats to Ministry of
Environment and Forests on 17 April
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2013. It proposed to protect 90
percent of the regions Natural
Landscape as Ecological Sensitive
Area. The HLWG report draws upon
the basic framework suggested by
WGEEP to use remote sensing
technologies to demarcate the
ecologically sensitive areas of the
Western Ghats but with two key
differences. First it used satellite
data, down to 24 m resolution, as
against 9 km used by WGEEP. This
finer resolution, was possible
because of the collaboration with
NRSC/ISRO, which used datasets to
distinguish vegetation types over the
landscape of the entire Western
Ghats. Second it distinguishes
between the cultural and the natural
landscape of the region. Using
remote sensing technology, it has
found that the cultural landscape
which includes human settlements,
agricultural fields and plantations
covers 58.44 per cent of the region.
The natural landscape ranges over
the remaining 41.56 per cent. The
methodology adopted by NRSC/
ISRO has then combined spatial
information generated on vegetation
types with species level information;
biological richness and disturbance
regimes to identify the biologically
diverse and contiguous regions of
the Western Ghats. Its conclusion,
based on this methodology, is that
roughly 37 per cent of the total area
defined as the boundary of the
Western Ghats is ecologically
sensitive. Over this area of some
60000 sq km, spread over the states
of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa,
Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu,
the HLWG has recommended a
prohibitory regime on those
activities with maximum
interventionist and destructive
impact on the environment.
The Working Group makes a
range of recommendations to
incentivize green growth in the
Western Ghats. These include
managing forests and improving
their productivity to ensure inclusive
growth and economic benefits for
local communities; integrating forest
accounts into state and national
economic assessments; initiating an
ecosystem service fund to help
villages around the forests;
promoting sustainable agriculture
and; encouraging ecotourism for
local benefits. As part of the
governance of ecologically sensitive
areas, the Working Group has
proposed to set up a Decision
Support and Monitoring Centre for
Geospatial Analysis and Policy
Support in the Western Ghats, which
will monitor changes and advise
state government on policy reform.
But it has made it clear that all these
reports must be in the public
domain. It has also recommended
that the high-resolution map, which
demarcates ecologically sensitive
areas, down to each village
settlement, must be put in the public
domain so that people can be
involved in taking decisions about
environment, which is first and
foremost their concern. The report
notes that environmentally sound
development cannot preclude
livelihood and economic options for
this region the answer (to the
question of how to manage and
conserve the Ghats) will not lie in
removing these economic options,
but in providing better incentives to
move them towards greener and
more sustainable practices. In doing
this, the Working Group has moved
away from the suggestions of the
Expert Panel, which had
recommended a blanket approach
consisting of guidelines for sector-
wise activities, which would be
permitted in the ecologically
sensitive zones. The Working
Group was constituted by the
ministry to advise the Government
on the recommendations of an
earlier report that of the eminent
ecologist Madhav Gadgil-led
Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel
(WGEEP). The WGEEP had
recommended that the entire
Western Ghats should be declared
as an ecologically sensitive area; had
suggested three levels of
categorization where regulatory
measures for protection would be
imposed and had recommended the
establishment of the Western Ghats
Ecology Authority for management.
In August 2012, MoEF constituted
the High Level Working Group
(HLWG) to examine the large
numbers of public responses
received to the recommendations of
the Gadgil report and to suggest the
way ahead.
Sea Ice of Antarctica Increasing Sea Ice of Antarctica Increasing Sea Ice of Antarctica Increasing Sea Ice of Antarctica Increasing Sea Ice of Antarctica Increasing
Despite Warming Global Climate: Despite Warming Global Climate: Despite Warming Global Climate: Despite Warming Global Climate: Despite Warming Global Climate:
Study Study Study Study Study
A team of scientists from the
Royal Netherlands Meteorological
Institute (KNMI) in De Bilt explained
in their recent study that the reason
for expansion of sea ice of
Antarctica is climate change. This
phenomenon may be caused
because of cold plumes of fresh
water which is derived because of
melting that happens beneath the
Antarctic ice shelves. The melted
water has comparatively low density
which is why it accumulates in top
layer of ocean. Cool surface water
thereafter re-freezes easily during
the Winter and the Autumn. This
phenomenon explains why there is
an increase in the level of sea ice of
Antarctica during these particular
seasons. Climate scientists
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observed that Antarctic sea ice
displayed a slight but statistically
crucial increase of around 1.9
percent per decade ever since 1985.
On the contrary, level of sea ice in
Arctic has been continuously
shrinking over past few decades.
These observed changes were tried
to be reproduced in the computer-
based climate model. The lead
author of the study, Richard Bintanja
explained that sea ice around the
Antarctica has been increasing
inspite of an increase in the global
temperature.
Researchers Successfully Researchers Successfully Researchers Successfully Researchers Successfully Researchers Successfully
Transplanted a Bio-Engineered Transplanted a Bio-Engineered Transplanted a Bio-Engineered Transplanted a Bio-Engineered Transplanted a Bio-Engineered
Kidney in Rat Kidney in Rat Kidney in Rat Kidney in Rat Kidney in Rat
The researchers from
Massachusetts General Hospital in
Boston, United States on 14 April
2013 announced that they had bio-
engineered a kidney that can be
marked a step-ahead in the quest to
help patients suffering from Kidney
Failure. The researchers as an
experiment transplanted the bio-
engineered kidney into rats and
discovered that the experiment was
successful. The success of the
experiment has laid a way for
building replacement structures of
lungs, livers and hearts. The process
of kidney transplant into the rat
involved taking out a rat kidney and
stripping out its living cells by using
a solution made of detergent and
leave behind a shell made of
collagen. Further, the rats empty
structure with living cells was
repopulated that comprised human
endothelial cells that lined the walls
of kidney blood vessels and kidney
cells taken from newborn rat. Then
the cells were seeded in the correct
part of the kidney with the help of a
muscle duct that is called ureter as
a tube and then transplanted the
organ into the living rat from which
the kidney was removed. The result
of the experiment was that the new
kidney started filtering the blood
and produced urine as soon as the
blood supply was restored. The
results of the experiment had
brought human being a step-closer
to create lab grown organs for
humans. The team of researchers
was led by Harald Ott.
Saving Australias marine Saving Australias marine Saving Australias marine Saving Australias marine Saving Australias marine
biodiversity biodiversity biodiversity biodiversity biodiversity
Last year the Australian
Government unveiled plans for
marine protected areas girding the
continent. The plans became official
in November. Parliament approval
is expected shortly. Australia will
spend tens of millions of dollars on
the programme. It will protect 2.3
million sq. km of sea and try to
balance leisure uses, commercial
interests such as fishing and drilling,
and conservation. The move was
hailed as a first step towards
seriously addressing the loss of
biodiversity in the waters off the
Australian continent. Some areas
come under total protection like the
Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea
but there are many areas, which are
only partially protected. A
significant aspect of the
governments move is that in many
areas, greater protection is
mandated in deeper waters while
the shallow (coastal) water is left
unprotected. This could probably
be because some areas have big oil
reserves. What effect will the drilling
for oil and gas have on species in
the areas drilled? It varies from high
levels of underwater noise from
seismic activity which can disturb
animals like whales, to a possible
major accident like the Montara
incident of the Northwest a few
years ago, or the Gulf of Mexico,
Mr. Paul Gamblin, Marine Policy
Manager, WWF-Australia, said in an
email to this correspondent.
Protecting a proportion of all
marine habitats is the best way
forward. For instance, protecting
coral reefs has great benefits. And
leading scientists recommend this.
Aside from reefs, seagrass,
underwater canyons and upwellings
are other areas. This also means
protecting important areas for
wildlife species to shelter, feed and
breed, he notes. There are
threatened species that are found in
Australian waters, many that face
threats when they migrate beyond
Australian waters, too. Mr. Gamblin
says: Marine parks should help in
the recovery of these species but
they do not have to be designed
around specific threats or the
particular threatened species, but to
protect a representative sample of
the ecosystem. That helps restore
the health of the marine habitat and
withstand pressures like those from
fishing and climate change.
Nuclear Capable Agni-II Missile Nuclear Capable Agni-II Missile Nuclear Capable Agni-II Missile Nuclear Capable Agni-II Missile Nuclear Capable Agni-II Missile
was Successfully Test-Fired was Successfully Test-Fired was Successfully Test-Fired was Successfully Test-Fired was Successfully Test-Fired
The medium range nuclear
capable Agni-II missile was on 7
April 2013 successfully test-fired
with a strike range of more than 2000
km from the Wheeler Island off
Odisha coast. The two-stage missile
equipped with advanced high
accuracy navigation system, guided
by a novel scheme of state of the
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earth command and control system
was propelled by solid rocket
propellant system. The 20-metre
long Agni-II is a two-stage, solid-
propelled ballistic missile. It has a
launch weight of 17 tonnes and can
carry a payload of 1000 kg over a
distance of 2000 km. The state-of-
the-art Agni-II missile was
developed by Advanced Systems
Laboratory (ASL) and integrated by
the Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL),
Hyderabad. Agni-II is part of the
Agni series of missiles developed by
DRDO which includes Agni-I with a
700 km range, Agni-III with a 3000
km range, Agni-IV with 4000 km
range and Agni-V more than 5000
km range.
Italian Archeologists Discovered Italian Archeologists Discovered Italian Archeologists Discovered Italian Archeologists Discovered Italian Archeologists Discovered
the Gate to Hell from Ruins in the Gate to Hell from Ruins in the Gate to Hell from Ruins in the Gate to Hell from Ruins in the Gate to Hell from Ruins in
Turkey Turkey Turkey Turkey Turkey
Italian archeologists in the first
week of April 2013, discovered
t he gate to hell gate to hell gate to hell gate to hell gate to hell from rui ns i n
Turkey. The research conducted by
the team led by Francesco DAndria,
professor of classic archaeology at
the University of Salento found out
that there existed a gate to hell, also
called Plutos Gate-Ploutonion in
Greek and Plutonium in
Latin. The gate to hell gate to hell gate to hell gate to hell gate to hell was known
to be the gateway to underworld in
Greco-Roman mythology as well as
tradition. Historically, this site was
situated in ancient Phrygian city of
Hierapolis, which is now called
Pamukkale. It was described by the
historians that the opening of
thi s gate to hell gate to hell gate to hell gate to hell gate to hell was filled with
lethal mephitic vapors. Greek
geographer Strabo (64/63 BC-about
24 AD) described that this place
was filled with dense and misty
vapours and the animals which
passed through it, died instantly.
The results of the findings were
described at the conference on
Italian archaeology in Istanbul,
Turkey.
Francesco DAndria, the lead
archaeologist described that the
gate to hell was discovered by
reconstruction of the route of
thermal spring. Pamukkale springs,
which are said to produce white
travertine terraces originated from
this cave only. The site had even
more ruins that earlier. The
archaeologists found out Ionic semi
columns. On their top, was the
inscription with dedication to
deities of the underworld-Pluto and
Kore. The ruins of the temple, a pool
as well as certain steps placed
above the cave were also found and
they all matched the descriptions of
the site described in ancient
sources. Francesco DAndria also
described that this site was a
renowned destination for
performing the rites of incubation.
The pilgrims used to take the waters
in pool near the temple and slept
close to the cave to receive
prophecies and visions, in a kind of
Delphi effect. The team of
archeologists is now in the process
of digital reconstruction of this site.
Supreme Court of India Ordered Supreme Court of India Ordered Supreme Court of India Ordered Supreme Court of India Ordered Supreme Court of India Ordered
Relocation of Endangered Asiatic Relocation of Endangered Asiatic Relocation of Endangered Asiatic Relocation of Endangered Asiatic Relocation of Endangered Asiatic
Lions from Gujarat to MP Lions from Gujarat to MP Lions from Gujarat to MP Lions from Gujarat to MP Lions from Gujarat to MP
A bench led by Justice K S
Radhakrishnan of the Supreme
Court of India on 15 April 2013
ordered Gujarat to share the
endangered Asiatic lions with its
neighbouring state- Madhya
Pradesh. The population of these
Asiatic lions has almost become
negligible but because of certain
conservation efforts in the state of
Gujarat in past 50 years, these
endangered lions have been saved
from extinction. At present, the
population of these lions in Gir
forests of Gujarat is 400. The
political leaders in Gujarat resisted
relocation of these lions, but
Supreme Court ordered that they
should be relocated in order to save
them from elimination because of
fire or epidemic.
Conversationalists too had
recommended establishment of
second sanctuary outside Gujarat in
order to make sure about genetic
diversification. Back in 1986, the
Union Government decided to
relocate some of the Asiatic lions
from Gir forest in Gujarat to Kuno
game sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh
in order to prevent extinction of
these species. Gujarat had earlier
opposed Madhya Pradeshs appeal
for relocation of these lions on the
grounds of poor record of
protection of tiger population in
Panna reserve forest. What number
of Asiatic lions should be moved to
Kuno game sanctuary in Madhya
Pradesh is yet to be determined.
Worlds biggest creature tracked Worlds biggest creature tracked Worlds biggest creature tracked Worlds biggest creature tracked Worlds biggest creature tracked
by its song by its song by its song by its song by its song
An Australian-led group of
scientists has for the first time
tracked down and tagged Antarctic
blue whales by using acoustic
technology to follow their songs.
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Indian Women Cricket Team Indian Women Cricket Team Indian Women Cricket Team Indian Women Cricket Team Indian Women Cricket Team
defeated Bangladesh Women 3-0 defeated Bangladesh Women 3-0 defeated Bangladesh Women 3-0 defeated Bangladesh Women 3-0 defeated Bangladesh Women 3-0
Indian Women made a clean
sweep in the three-match
Bangladesh Women in India One
Day International Cricket Series,
2012/13 against Bangladesh on 12
April 2013 after winning the third
and the final match at Sardar Patel
Stadium in Ahmedabad. India
defeated Bangladesh by 58 runs in
the third match.
Scores of the third Match
India Women: India Women: India Women: India Women: India Women: 154 all out in
48.3 overs
Highest run getters from India
were Swagatika Rath scored 30 runs
and Harmanpreet Kaur scored 29
runs
Sports
The Indian womens cricket
team finished the Twenty20
International series against
Bangladesh Women with 3-0 clean
sweep in Vadodara in the final
match on 5 April 2013. India won
the final match by 10 runs against
Bangladesh. The second game was
won by India by seven wickets,
thereby winning the series already.
The T-20 International series against
Bangladesh began on 2 April
2013. India and Bangladesh
womens cricket team will now play
Bangladesh Women: Bangladesh Women: Bangladesh Women: Bangladesh Women: Bangladesh Women: 96 all out
in 41.1 overs
Highest Run getter from
Bangladesh was Salma Khatun
scored 22 runs
Before the ODI series, the
Indian women also made a clean
sweep T20 international series
against Bangladesh Women with 3-
0 on 5 April 2013.
Indian Womens Cricket Team Indian Womens Cricket Team Indian Womens Cricket Team Indian Womens Cricket Team Indian Womens Cricket Team
Won the Twenty20 International Won the Twenty20 International Won the Twenty20 International Won the Twenty20 International Won the Twenty20 International
Series against Bangladesh Series against Bangladesh Series against Bangladesh Series against Bangladesh Series against Bangladesh
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Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports
three One-Day Internationals. The
first ODI will be played on 8 April
2013 in Ahmadabad.
Facts about India and Bangladesh
Twenty20 International series
The first match was played on
2 April 2013 at Vadodra. The
score was- India Women 143/
3 (20/20 ov); Bangladesh
Women 94/7 (20/20 ov).
The second match was played
on 4 April 2013 at Vadodra.
The score was- Bangladesh
Women 88/4 (20/20 ov); India
Women 91/3 (18/20 ov).
The third match was played on
5 April 2013 at Vadodra. The
score was- India Women 123/
9 (20/20 ov); Bangladesh
Women 113/7 (20/20 ov).
ICC Test Rankings ICC Test Rankings ICC Test Rankings ICC Test Rankings ICC Test Rankings
Cheteshwar Pujara and
Ravichandran Ashwin are the only
two Indian Cricketers to figure out
among the top-10 in the latest ICC
Test Rankings in batting and bowling
respectively released on 21 April
2013. Pujara with 777 ranking points
retained his position at number
seven in the batting chart of the ICC
rankings released. Ashwin was static
at the sixth position in the list of top
ten bowlers with 757
points. Hashim Amla, the South
African batsman was listed as the
top ranking batsman in the list and
is followed by Shivnarine
Chanderpaul of West Indies and A
B de Villiers of South Africa. While
in the rankings of bowlers, Dale
Steyn, the South African pace
spearhead was ranked as the best
bowler with 905 ranking points. Dale
Steyn is followed by his teammate
Vernon Philander and Sri Lankas
Rangana Herath. In context of the
test-playing all-rounders there was
no change in the ranking. Jacques
Kallis of South Africa remained at
first position and is followed by
Shakib. The gap between the points
of these two increased by 35
points. The Captain of Zimbabwe,
Brendan Taylor earned his career
best 29th position in the rankings
with his undefeated feat of 171 and
102 not out against Bangladesh. He
jumped 49 positions to grab this
position.
Shane Watson Stepped Down as
Vice-Captain
The Australian Cricketer and
all-rounder player, Shane Watson on
20 April 2013 stepped down from
the position of Vice-Captain of the
Australian International test Cricket
team. His decision came up before
the Champions League and the
Ashes Series that is scheduled to be
organized in England in July 2013.
India completed a 5-0 Whitewash India completed a 5-0 Whitewash India completed a 5-0 Whitewash India completed a 5-0 Whitewash India completed a 5-0 Whitewash
of Indonesia of Indonesia of Indonesia of Indonesia of Indonesia
India completed a 5-0
whitewash of Indonesia in the Asia-
Oceania Group I Davis Cup
relegation play-off tie in Bangalore
on 7 April 2013 as Somdev
Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri
posted straight-set wins in their
respective reverse singles. Somdev
outplayed David Agung Susant 6-3
6-1 in little over an hour while Yuki
Bhambari registered a thumping 6-
0 6-1 victory over Wisnu Adi
Nugroho. India stay in Asia Oceania
Group-I and will strive to qualify for
the World Group in 2014. India had
already retained their place in the
group, after they took a lead of 3-0
on 6 April 2013.
Womens Tennis Ranking Womens Tennis Ranking Womens Tennis Ranking Womens Tennis Ranking Womens Tennis Ranking
American Serena Williams was
ranked number one in an unchanged
top 10 issued on 8 April 2013 by the
WTA(Women Tennis Association).
Williams has 11,115 points to her
credit while Russias Maria
Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka of
Belarus got 10240 and 9325 points
respectively. WTA top 10 women
tennis players are as following: (1)
Serena Williams, United States,
11115 points (2) Maria Sharapova,
Russia, 10240 (3) Victoria Azarenka,
Belarus, 9325 (4) Agnieszka
Radwanska, Poland, 6845 (5) Li Na,
China, 5880 (6) Angelique Kerber,
Germany, 5500 (7) Sara Errani,
Italy, 5405 (8) Petra Kvitova, Czech
Republic, 5225 (9) Samantha
Stosur, Australia, 3790 (10)
Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark, 3760.
Monterrey Open Tennis Monterrey Open Tennis Monterrey Open Tennis Monterrey Open Tennis Monterrey Open Tennis
Tournament 2013 Tournament 2013 Tournament 2013 Tournament 2013 Tournament 2013
Russias Anastasia
Pavlyuchenkova won final of the
Monterrey Open Tennis Tournament
after defeating Germanys top-
seeded Angelique Kerber 4-6, 6-2,
6-4 on 7 April 2013. With this, her
International-level tournament
record remained intact with 15-
0. She won the Monterrey Open
Tennis Tournament all the three
times she played it. She played the
Monterrey Open in 2010, 2011 and
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2013. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has
overall four WTA titles of her
career. The doubles title of
Monterrey Open Tennis Tournament
was won by Kimiko Date-Krumm
and Timea Babos, who defeated
Tamarine Tanasugarn and Eva
Birnarova 6-1 6-4.
After the victory, Anastasia
Pavlyuchenkova won a cheque of
40000 US dollar as well as 280
ranking points. Angelique Kerber on
the other hand got a cheque of
20000 US dollar and 200 ranking
points. Monterrey Open Tennis
Tournament is one among the main
tennis tournaments of Mexico.
Other important Mexican tennis
tournament is Acapulco Open
which was won by Italys Sara Errani
and Spains Rafael Nadal in March
2013.
Miami Masters open Tennis Miami Masters open Tennis Miami Masters open Tennis Miami Masters open Tennis Miami Masters open Tennis
Tournament 2013 Tournament 2013 Tournament 2013 Tournament 2013 Tournament 2013
World No. 1 Serena Williams
on 30 March 2013 won Miami
masters open Tennis Tournament
for record sixth time in Key
Biscayne. Serena Williams claimed
the record equaling sixth title by
winning the last 10 games to sweep
by Maria Sharapova 4-6, 6-3, 6-0. By
winning the title, Serena Williams
joined Chris Evert, Steffi Graf and
Martina Navratilova as the only
Serena Williams won the Family
Circle Cup, 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 in
Charleston, S.C. on 7 April 2013. She
defeated Jelena Jankovic in three
sets of the final match. This is the
second straight title of Serena
Williams at WTA event and third
overall.
Serena Williams, 31, won her
two straight singles tournament after
defeating Maria Sharapova at the
Sony Tennis Open in Miami. In all,
she has three single titles in 2013
along with 49 of her career. In
January 2013, she won WTA
Brisbane International and Sony
Tennis Open in Miami for sixth time
in March 2013.
She is a 15-time Grand Slam
champion. She will play for
European clay-court season as well
as the years second Slam event, the
2013 French Open that will
commence in late May 2013.
Indian Tennis Players Association Indian Tennis Players Association Indian Tennis Players Association Indian Tennis Players Association Indian Tennis Players Association
The Indian Tennis Players
Association (ITPA) Secretary, Karti
P Chidambaram on 14 April 2013
announced that the tennis star
player, Sania Mirza became one of
the Vice-Presidents of ITPA. Sania
Mirza now became one of the four
Vice-Presidents of Indian Tennis
Players Association, which is a
newly-formed body.
Other three Vice-Presidents of
the body are Somdev Devvarman,
Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander
Paes. Former Davis Cup captain
Jaideep Mukherjea is the President
of the Association. Sania Mirza is
the first female player from India
who won a Grand Slam. She now
plays in doubles only.
Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters
Tournament Tournament Tournament Tournament Tournament
Novak Djokovic on 21 April
2013 defeated Rafekl Nadal in the
Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters
tournament at Monte-Carlo,
Monaco. With this win in the Monte-
women to have won the same event
six times.
Miami Masters 2013 Mens Miami Masters 2013 Mens Miami Masters 2013 Mens Miami Masters 2013 Mens Miami Masters 2013 Mens
British second seed Andy
Murray on 31 March 2013 won the
ATP Miami Masters by defeating
Spanish third seed David Ferrer by
2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/1) in Miami,
Florida. It was Andy Murrays 26th
career tour title, and second of the
year after having wining the
Brisbane International in a tough two
hours and 45 minutes. David Ferrer
collapsed with a cramp two points
from the finish and Murray took a
stagger earlier in the final set.
Family Circle Cup 2013 Family Circle Cup 2013 Family Circle Cup 2013 Family Circle Cup 2013 Family Circle Cup 2013
Current womens world No. 1
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Carlo Tournament, Djokovic ended
Nadals eight-year reign in the
tournament as well as 46 match
winning streak in the Monte-Carlo
Clay Court Masters tournament.
Djokovic defeated Nadal with
6-2, 7-6 (1) in the game that lasted
for 1 hour and 52 minutes and for
Djokovic. He lost to Nadal in Monte
Carlo 2009 and 2012 tournament
and became the first player to defeat
the king of clay court Nadal in three
different finals on clay; previously he
defeated Nadal in Madrid and Rome
in 2011.
Nadals eight straight titles in
the row is the record for the
tournament in ATP. Djokovic also
ended the 81 match winning streak
of Nadal on the clay court in April
2013, before this Nadal last lost a
match on clay court on 8 April 2005
in the Valencia quarter finals to Igor
Andreev.
This is the first Monte-Carlo
title and 14th ATP world Masters
1000 titles with overall 37 trophies
for Djokovic. With this win, he has
won every ATP World Tour Masters
1000 title except the Western and
Southern Open Cincinnati.
Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters
The Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters
is also known as the Gem of the
Mediterranean. The event
celebrated its 100th anniversary in
2006 and is first among all the three
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
tournaments that are played on the
clay court.
The tournament is a player and
fan favourite due to its magnificent
location and long tradition of
champions. Rafael Nadal of Spain
won an Open Era record eight
successive title from 2005-2012 and
has a staggering event record of
48-2.
Gregg Clark as the Coach of the Gregg Clark as the Coach of the Gregg Clark as the Coach of the Gregg Clark as the Coach of the Gregg Clark as the Coach of the
Junior Mens National Team Junior Mens National Team Junior Mens National Team Junior Mens National Team Junior Mens National Team
Hockey India on 7 April 2013
named South African Gregg Clark as
the chief coach of the junior mens
national team. He had coached the
South African senior mens team for
seven years including the 2008 and
2012 Olympics earlier. He also
coached the title-winning Ranchi
Rhinos in the inaugural edition of the
Hockey India League (HIL) in 2013.
Clark was appointed for a period of
one year but the contract can be
renewed. The junior Hockey World
Cup will be held in India in
December 2013.
Hockey India formed a High Hockey India formed a High Hockey India formed a High Hockey India formed a High Hockey India formed a High
Performance and Development Performance and Development Performance and Development Performance and Development Performance and Development
Committee for 2013-14 Committee for 2013-14 Committee for 2013-14 Committee for 2013-14 Committee for 2013-14
Hockey India on 9 April 2013
announced its High Performance
and Development Committee for
2013-14.
The 15 member committee will
be headed by Dr Narinder Batra
Secretary General of Hockey India
and High Performance Director,
Hockey India Roelant Oltmans will
be the Vice-Chairman. The
committee has Ajit Pal Singh (former
Captain of 1975 World Cup winning
team), Col. Balbir Singh (former
Olympian and National Selector),
Dilip Tirkey (former Captain and
Member Rajya Sabha), Sukhvir Singh
Grewal, Thoiba Singh, Mukesh
Kumar, Dr RP Singh, Surinder Kaur,
Saba Anjum, Michael Nobbs (Chief
Coach, National Senior Men Hockey
Team), Neil Hawgood (Chief Coach,
National Senior Women Hockey
Team) and Gregg Clark (Coach,
National Junior Men Hockey Team)
as its members. Ms Elena Norman,
CEO, Hockey India will be the
Convenor of this Committee. The
Sports Authority of India will be the
Invitee Members of this Committee.
This committee will work on
the high performance and
development of hockey at grassroot
level in the country. Committee will
prepare blueprints and ensures that
same pattern of coaching will be
followed in the country at all levels.
Since the appointment of Roelant
Oltmans as Director, High
Performance by Hockey India it was
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a necessary step to form this
Committee so as to ensure that the
game of hockey progresses in the
country at all levels. Dr Narinder
Batra, Chairman, High Performance
and Development Committee and
Secretary General, Hockey India
said that the idea of involving former
Olympians, International players
and Chief Coaches in this
Committee is to get more and more
ideas for proper planning in the
development of the game.The
Committee will meet quarterly to
discuss the progress and share new
ideas.
North Zone Sub-Junior National North Zone Sub-Junior National North Zone Sub-Junior National North Zone Sub-Junior National North Zone Sub-Junior National
Championship Championship Championship Championship Championship
Chandigarh on 15 April 2013
defeated Punjab by 2-1 to lift the
third Hockey India Sub-Junior Men
National Championship (North
Zone) title in the final match held at
Sonepat. Harmeet Singh and
Manjinder Singh scored one goal
each for Chandigarh, whereas
Kawaljit Singh scored one goal for
Punjab. Meanwhile, Haryana
women won the 3rd Hockey India
Sub-Junior Women National
Championship (North Zone) title.
The Women team of Haryana
defeated Chandigarh by 3-1 in the
final to capture the title. Udita
scored two goals and Navpreet Kaur
scored one for Haryana to win the
title. Navneet Kaur of Haryana
scored maximum 9 goals in the
complete tournament to stay at the
top in the list.
Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes-Benz and Sahara Force Sahara Force Sahara Force Sahara Force Sahara Force
India Signed a Long-Term India Signed a Long-Term India Signed a Long-Term India Signed a Long-Term India Signed a Long-Term
Agreement Agreement Agreement Agreement Agreement
Mercedes-Benz and Sahara
Force India signed a long-term
agreement for the Silverstone-based
team on 28 March 2013 in order to
make use of the full powertrain of
Mercedes-Benz from 2014 season
onwards. According to the
agreement, Mercedes-Benz will
facilitate Force India with the
complete Power Unit, all associated
ancillary systems as well as
transmission, in accordance with the
new regulations for 2014. Power
gearboxes and hydraulic systems.
The gearboxes and hydraulic
systems are, as of now being
Unit refers to internal combustion
engine plus energy recovery
system. Mercedes-Benz started
supplying customer engine in 2009
with Silverstone-based team. This
engine-supplying relationship has
now entered the fifth season. Force
India announced that long-term
agreement with Mercedes-Benz
would also include supplying
provided by McLaren Applied
Technologies.
Bahrain Grand Prix 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix 2013
Sebastian Vettel, the three
times World Formulae One
champion from Germany won the
Bahrain Grand Prix 2013 on 21 April
2013 by defeating Lotus drivers Kimi
Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean.
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The Red Bulls Sebastian Vettel
started the race from second
position but successfully grabbed
the first position in the 17th Lap to
beat the two Kimi Raikkonen by 9
seconds and Grosjean by 20
seconds. He crossed Paul di Resta
of Force India for third with five
laps. Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes
took fifth position and Fernando
Alonso of Ferrari, who suffered a
rear wing failure, was successful in
grabbing the eighth position in the
listings.
MoU for World Chess MoU for World Chess MoU for World Chess MoU for World Chess MoU for World Chess
All India Chess Federation
(AICF), the Tamil Nadu State Chess
Association and the World Chess
Federation (FIDE) signed an MoU on
19 April 2013 for the World Chess
Championship match between
Viswanathan Anand and Magnus
Carlsen, which is scheduled to be
held from 6 November 2013 to 26
November 2013 in Chennai. This is
for the first time that the World
Chess Championship match will be
held in India and it came to Chennai
without bidding.
FIDE Chief Kirsan Ilyumzhinov,
in 2012, met Jayalalithaa for hosting
the match in India, but its bid was
lesser than Russias. However, Kirsan
Ilyumzhinov, despite this, offered
the event to Chennai without the
bid. This happened for the first time
in the history of World Chess
Championship. The organising
rights of the event were given by
FIDE to the private firm called
AGON. AGON will be responsible
for securing the sponsors of the
event.
Houston Open 2013 Houston Open 2013 Houston Open 2013 Houston Open 2013 Houston Open 2013
American DA Points won the
Houston Open 2013 on 1 April 2013.
He had won earlier the Pebble
Beach National ProAm in 2011. He
was in contention for winning the
Houston open all week. He added
six birdies on the final day of
tournament to ensure his victory.
Stewart Cink, Stenson and Bill Haas
also participated in the tournament.
Stenson bogeyed the 13th but
birdies at four of the final five holes
saw him finish runner-up with
Horschel, who earned his second-
place finish with five birdies on the
front nine. Englands Brian Davis
scored 67 on the final day to finish
in a tie for sixth, one shot behind
Dustin Johnson and Ben Crane.
Augusta Masters Golf Augusta Masters Golf Augusta Masters Golf Augusta Masters Golf Augusta Masters Golf
Tournament Tournament Tournament Tournament Tournament
Adam Scott won the Augusta
Masters Golf championship on 14
April 2013. He beat Angel Cabrera
in the play-off for the title. It was his
maiden major title. He became the
first Australian to win Augusta
Masters. Australian Jason Day,
runner up with Scott in 2011, was
third at seven under with Tiger
Woods (70) and another Australian
Marc Leishman (72) tied for fourth
at five under. Adam Scott is 32 years
old. He turned professional in 2000.
His ranking at present is 7. He has 9
US PGA tour wins and an equal
number of European PGA tour wins
to his credit.
Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20
Championship Title Championship Title Championship Title Championship Title Championship Title
Championship title after
defeating Punjab in the six-wicket
victory on 31 March 2013 at Holkar
Stadium, Indore. Punjab won the
toss and elected to bat first. The
team scored 122 runs in 20 overs
with a loss of 8 wickets. Gujarat accomplished the
score with 13 balls remaining.
Gujarat clinched the Syed
Mushtaq Ali Twenty20
About Syed Mushtaq Ali
Twenty20 Championship
Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20
Championship is the domestic
cricket championship of
India.
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It is organised by Board of
Control for Cricket in India.
The inaugural season of Syed
Mushtaq Ali Twenty20
Championship was 2008-09
season.
Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20
Championship is named after
the Indian cricketer, Syed
Mushtaq Ali.
ISSF World Cup in 25-M Pistol ISSF World Cup in 25-M Pistol ISSF World Cup in 25-M Pistol ISSF World Cup in 25-M Pistol ISSF World Cup in 25-M Pistol
Event Event Event Event Event
Rahi Sarnobat clinched the first
gold for India in International
Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF)
World Cup in Korea on 5 April 2013.
She defeated Kyeongae Kim 8-6 in
25m pistol final.
She is the first pistol shooter
from India who won the Gold in
World Cup.
About Rahi Sarnobat
Rahi Sarnobat is the first
Indian to win Gold in World
Cup in pistol event.
She joined the league of some
of the eminent shooters such
as Gagan Narang, Manavjit
Singh Sandhu, Anjali Bhagwat,
Ronjan Singh Sodhi, Sanjeev
Rajput and Rajyavardhan
Singh Rathore.
Rahi Sarnobat was also the
youngest Indian shooter at
London Olympics 2012.
In 2011, she won a bronze
after qualifying for the
Olympics.
27th Edition of North-East Games 27th Edition of North-East Games 27th Edition of North-East Games 27th Edition of North-East Games 27th Edition of North-East Games
In the 27th edition of North-
East Games played at Imphal, the
host state- Manipur claimed the title
of overall team champion on 11
April 2013. The North-East Games
were played from 8 April 2013 to 11
April 2013. The North-East games
included eight states. These games
also include Sikkim. Manipur
emerged as overall champion with
the medal tally of 127. This included
74 gold, 31 silver and 22 bronze.
Assam came at the second place
with 101 medals which included 31
gold, 30 silver and 40 bronze.
Mizoram was at the third place with
72 medals including 20 gold, 19
silver and 33 bronze. Nagaland
finished at fourth position with 49
medals and Arunachal Pradesh got
45 medals. At the lowest rank were
Meghalaya with 37 medals, Tripura
with 36 medals and Sikkim 11
medals.
About 27th North East Games
2013
The 27th North East Games
2013 were opened by Manipur
Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh.
North East Games were earlier
known as North East Sports
Festival.
The North East Games were
started with an aim of
promoting the sports and
games in the North East
region.
First edition of North East
Games was held in Imphal in
1986-87.
Raninder Singh re-elected as the
President of National Rifle
Association of India
Raninder Singh on 6 April 2013
was re-elected as the President of
the National Rifle Association of
India (NRAI). The announcement of
his re-election was made at Hotel Raj
Hans, Suraj Kund, by Justice (retd)
Mehtab Singh Gill during the NRAIs
General Body Meeting. Raninder
Singh has been holding the Post of
the President since 29 December
2010.
World Youth Weightlifting World Youth Weightlifting World Youth Weightlifting World Youth Weightlifting World Youth Weightlifting
Championships 2013 Championships 2013 Championships 2013 Championships 2013 Championships 2013
Jamjang Deru won silver in the
50 kg boys category at Tashkent,
Uzbekistan on 8 April 2013 in
the world youth weightlifting
championships 2013. With the
victory of Jamjang Deru, this was
also the first medal for India in the
world youth weightlifting
championships. Jamjang Deru won
silver in the clean and jerk and lifted
110 kg. He finished at the fourth
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position with a total lift of 195 kg. In
snatch, he lifted 85 kg. In same 50
kg boys category, Deepak Lather
lifted 174 kg to finish at the 12th
position. In the girls 44 kg category,
Chandrika Tarafdar finished at the
seventh position with 135 kg.
Poonam Dalal lifted 122 kg to finish
at the 15th position. It is worth
noticing that World Youth
Championships is the qualifying
event for 2014 Youth Olympic
Games.
ONGC 12th Asian Billiards ONGC 12th Asian Billiards ONGC 12th Asian Billiards ONGC 12th Asian Billiards ONGC 12th Asian Billiards
Rupesh Shah, the world
champion won the 12th Asian
Billiards championship at Indore
Tennis Club, Indore on 7 April 2013.
He defeated Alok Kumar 6-4 in the
fierce match. Rupesh Shah finished
at 101, 95 and 100 to defeat Alok
Kumar. It is important to note that
this is the 10th Asian Billiards title.
Rupesh Shah is the new entry into
the club of elites such as Ashok
Shandilya, Alok Kumar, Geet Sethi,
Pankaj Advani and Devendra
Joshi. Rupesh Shah already
qualified for 2013 World
Championship as the defending
champion.
20th National Archery 20th National Archery 20th National Archery 20th National Archery 20th National Archery
Assam on 21 April 2013
topped in the medal tally of the 20th
National Archery Championship that
was held at Raipur in
Chhattisgarh. Assam topped in the
chart of states, by claiming four gold
medals. Assam won the team event
in womens category, while services
Sports Control Board won the Mens
team event.
The event was organised from
17 April to 21 April 2013 and was
conducted at Agrasen Dham. The
National Championship was
organised by the Chhattisgarh
Pradesh Archery Association and
was the Olympic Qualifying Event.
In this mega event, more than 500
archers, coach, technical team and
officials of Archery bodies from
across 28 States and seven Union
Territories participated in the event.
ASBC Asian Confederation Junior ASBC Asian Confederation Junior ASBC Asian Confederation Junior ASBC Asian Confederation Junior ASBC Asian Confederation Junior
Boxing Championships 2013 Boxing Championships 2013 Boxing Championships 2013 Boxing Championships 2013 Boxing Championships 2013
At the final round of ASBC
Asian Confederation Junior Boxing
Championships in Kazakhstan,
Prayag Chauhan defeated Azat
Ilyubayev in the lightweight
category (60kg) on 22 April 2013 to
grab a gold medal. In an overall
performance, India stood at the
third position in team rankings. The
Indian boxers completed Asian
meet with three bronze and one
national champion Aditya Maan
(66kg) grabbed bronze medal at the
Asian Championships. He lost to
Uzbek boxer, Merjanev Eldar.
Pradeep (63 kg) finished the
tournament with third position. He
lost to Kazakhstans Stolbovskiy
Vladislav in semi-finals.
Chris Hoy, six time Olympic Gold
Medalist announced Retirement
Sir Chris Hoy, the Six-time
Olympic Gold Medalist from Britain
on 18 April 2013 decided to retire
from cycling after using every last
ounce of energy and effort at
London 2012. He announced his
retirement at Murrayfield in
Edinburgh. The 37 year old cycling
champion decided to retire before
the 2014 Commonwealth Games in
Glasgow.
About Chris Hoy
Chris Hoy has six-Olympic
Gold Medals by his name; he
secured the last two during
the London Olympics-2012
He won his first Olympic gold
medal by securing a victory in
the one kilometre time-trial at
Athens in 2004
In Sydney Olympics 2000, he
won a silver medal in the team
sprint
gold medal. Prayag Chauhan, 16,
won the match in 60 kg category. On
the other hand, the sub-junior
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Sports
During the Beijing Olympics in
2008, he won 3 gold medals
by his name in the in the team
sprint, keirin and sprint
In 2008 he was voted as the
2008 BBC Sports Personality of
the year
He is the first Briton, who
claimed six Olympic Gold
medal by his name, before him
Sir Steve Redgrave recorded
his name as a person to win
maximum gold medals with
five Olympic Gold medals
Medals won by him in Different Format of Game
Ga m es/Cha m pio nsh ips Yea r a nd Ty pe o f R ace
Oly mp ic Ga m es
2004: 1k m t ra ck tim e tr ia l
2008: Tea m s pr int , k ei rin a n d sp r int
2012: Tea m s pr int a nd k eir in
Wor ld Cham p ions hip s
2002: 1k m t ime t ria l a nd tea m s pr int
2004: 1k m t ime t ria l
2005: Tea m s pr int
2007: K eirin a n d 1km t ime t ria l
2008: Sp r int a nd k eirin
2010: K eirin
2012: K eirin
Com mo nwea lth Ga mes
2006: Tea m s pr int
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Award & Prizes Award & Prizes Award & Prizes Award & Prizes Award & Prizes
Dada Saheb Phalke Award Dada Saheb Phalke Award Dada Saheb Phalke Award Dada Saheb Phalke Award Dada Saheb Phalke Award
Legendary actor, Pran Krishan
Sikand, 93, on 12 April 2013 was
awarded with Bollywoods highest
honour in Indian Cinema Dada
Saheb Phalke Award 2012. The
award is instituted on the name of
the Dada Saheb Phalke, the man
who made first feature film in India.
He is the 44th Dada Saheb Phalke
Award Winner. He gave a different
and unique frame to the negative
and character roles of Indian Cinema
with his impressive performances.
His contribution to the film industry
makes him a celebrated actor of the
industry. He brought new
mannerism and style, in the arena of
acting. Pran got his first break in
a Punjabi Film Yamla Jat Punjabi Film Yamla Jat Punjabi Film Yamla Jat Punjabi Film Yamla Jat Punjabi Film Yamla Jat in 1940 in
Award & Prizes
contribution to the growth and
development of Indian Cinema. The
award consists of a Swarn Kamal, a
cash prize of Rs.10 lakhs and a
shawl. The award is given on the
basis of recommendations of a
Committee of eminent persons.
Jnanpith Award 2012 Jnanpith Award 2012 Jnanpith Award 2012 Jnanpith Award 2012 Jnanpith Award 2012
Ravuri Bharadwaja, 86, the
Telgu writer on 17 April 2013 was
selected for the prestigious Jnanpith
Award 2012. He got the award for
his contributions to Telgu Literature
for over a period of six decades.
Ravuri on his credit has written 37
Volumes of Short Stories and 17
Novels. He was selected for the
award by the Jnanpith Award
Committee chaired by the noted
undivided India. But his debut in
Bollywood happened in the film
Ziddi, in which he acted alongwith
the evergreen hero of bollywood
Dev Anand in 1948. Pran served
Bollywood for a career span of more
than six decades in more than 350
films and is known for his brilliant
performances in films like Ram Aur
Shyam, Purab aur Paschim, Karz,
Zanjeer and Amar Akbar Anthony
and many more.
About Pran Krishan Sikand About Pran Krishan Sikand About Pran Krishan Sikand About Pran Krishan Sikand About Pran Krishan Sikand
He was born in Old Delhi on
12 February 1920
In 2001 he was awarded with
Indias third highest civilian
award Padma Bhushan
In his career span, he received
four film fare awards
He was awarded the title of
Villain of the millennium by
Stardust in 2000
In 2010 he was named among
the Top 25 Asian Actors of All
times by CNN
About the Award About the Award About the Award About the Award About the Award
The award is conferred by the
Government of India for outstanding
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poet Sitakant Mahapatra. Ravuri is
the third recipient of the highest
literary award from Andhra Pradesh.
Before him Dr. Viswanatha
Satyanarayana in 1970 for his Srimad
Ramayana Kalpavriksham and Dr. C.
Narayana Reddy in 1988 for his book
Viswambhara received the award.
About Ravuri Bharadwaja About Ravuri Bharadwaja About Ravuri Bharadwaja About Ravuri Bharadwaja About Ravuri Bharadwaja
Ravuri Bharadwaja studied till
class eight, but his works and
write-ups turned up to be a
basis for many research works
and are prescribed as text
books in Universities
He is a poet, a playwright, a
novelist of distinction and a
popular science writer
He has written six short novels
for children namely
Kadambari, Pakudurallu,
Jeevana Samaram, Inupu Tera
Venuka and Koumudi these
novels have been translated
into several Indian languages
as well as English
Earlier he has been awarded
with awards like Sahitya
Akademi Award, Soviet Land
Nehru Award, Balsahitya
Parishad Award, Telugu
Akademi Award,
He was also awarded with a
honarary doctorate from
Nagarjuna University
Jnanpith Award Jnanpith Award Jnanpith Award Jnanpith Award Jnanpith Award
It is the highest literary award
of India that was instituted to
recognize the works of Indian
Citizens in official Indian languages.
It carries a cheque for 7 lakh, a
citation plaque and a bronze replica
of Saraswati, the Indian goddess of
knowledge, music, and the arts.
Goldman Prize 2013 Goldman Prize 2013 Goldman Prize 2013 Goldman Prize 2013 Goldman Prize 2013
An environmental campaigner
Rossano Ercolini was chosen as one
of the winners for the 2013 Goldman
Prize. He is considered to be the
driving force behind Italys zero-
waste movement. Rossano Ercolini
convinced Naples to adopt zero-
waste goals. Naples is a city gripped
by a long running waste crisis.Other
winners include an anti-fracking
campaigner from Africa and a
person from Iraq leading a marsh
restoration project.
The Goldman prize is also
termed as the Oscars of the
environment movement. The
awards will be presented at a
ceremony in San Francisco. Rossano
is an organising member of the Zero
Waste International Alliance. His
campaign to encourage recycling
and waste reduction has resulted
into 117 municipalities across Italy
closing incinerators and committing
to zero-waste strategies.
Olive Crown Awards Olive Crown Awards Olive Crown Awards Olive Crown Awards Olive Crown Awards
Olive Crown Awards Olive Crown Awards Olive Crown Awards Olive Crown Awards Olive Crown Awards
2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 took place in Shangri-La
Hotel, Mumbai on 1 April
2013. Grey Worldwide Grey Worldwide Grey Worldwide Grey Worldwide Grey Worldwide, the New
York-based advertising and
marketing company was awarded
with Agency of the year Agency of the year Agency of the year Agency of the year Agency of the year title. The
Olive Crown Awards celebrate the
creative excellence in the area of
green advertising. Overall 35
awards were given away in the
ceremony of the Olive Crown
Awards 2013. A total of 18
categories were there which
included 31 nominees. Cheil Cheil Cheil Cheil Cheil
Worldwide Worldwide Worldwide Worldwide Worldwide for Samsung Printers
won the Campaign of the year Campaign of the year Campaign of the year Campaign of the year Campaign of the year
award award award award award. Kewal Kiran Kewal Kiran Kewal Kiran Kewal Kiran Kewal Kiran
Clothing Clothing Clothing Clothing Clothing grabbed the Advertiser Advertiser Advertiser Advertiser Advertiser
of the Year Award of the Year Award of the Year Award of the Year Award of the Year Awardfor Green Turn
Water Saver Jeans. Padmashri Padmashri Padmashri Padmashri Padmashri
Kartikeya Sarabhai Kartikeya Sarabhai Kartikeya Sarabhai Kartikeya Sarabhai Kartikeya Sarabhai won Olive Olive Olive Olive Olive
Crown Green Crusader Award Crown Green Crusader Award Crown Green Crusader Award Crown Green Crusader Award Crown Green Crusader Award. This
is a special award which is
conferred upon the individual who
continuously fights for the idea of
going green. The jury of the awards
included Vinod Rao, Charles Victor,
Sonal Dabral, Ramki, Chax and Pops
Sridhar.
About the Olive Crown Awards About the Olive Crown Awards About the Olive Crown Awards About the Olive Crown Awards About the Olive Crown Awards
Olive Crown Awards were
inaugurated in 2011 and the
first event was held at GoaFest
2011.
Olive Crown Awards 2013 was
the third edition of these
awards.
The Olive Crown Awards are
instituted by the India chapter
of the International
Advertising Association.
These awards aim towards
celebrating the concept of
green advertising.
Padma Awards 2013 Padma Awards 2013 Padma Awards 2013 Padma Awards 2013 Padma Awards 2013
The President of India, Pranab
Mukherjee gave 54 Padma Awards
at the function in Darbar hall of
Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on
20 April 2013. Among those who
were conferred with the awards
were cricketer Rahul Dravid and
actors Sridevi and Sharmila Tagore.
While Rahul Dravid and Sharmila
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Tagore were conferred with the
Padma Bhushan, Sridevi received
Padma Shri, which is the fourth
highest civilian award of India. Prof
Yashpal, the scientist and sculptor
Raghunath Mohapatra received the
second highest civilian award of
India, Padma Vibhushan.
Padma Bhushan, on the other
hand was conferred upon Defence
Research and Development
Organisation chief V K Saraswat.
Other Padma Bhushan awards
recipients included S G Patil (public
affairs), Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak
(literature and education) and
Hemandra Singh Panwar (civil
service). No one received the
Bharat Ratna for 2013. The last
awardee for Bharat Ratna was late
Bhimsen Joshi who had won in
2008. Out of the total of 54 Padma
award, 2 were the Padma Vibhushan
awards, 10 were the Padma Bhushan
awards and 42 were the Padma
Shree awards.
2013 Times of India Film Awards 2013 Times of India Film Awards 2013 Times of India Film Awards 2013 Times of India Film Awards 2013 Times of India Film Awards
(TOIFA) (TOIFA) (TOIFA) (TOIFA) (TOIFA)
The 2013 Times of India Film
Awards (TOIFA) ceremony took
place in BC Place, Vancouver on 6
April 2013. The top winner of the
awards was Barfi! which bagged the
best film, best director, best actor
and best actress trophies.
The list of the awards is as The list of the awards is as The list of the awards is as The list of the awards is as The list of the awards is as
follows: follows: follows: follows: follows:
TOIFA Best film TOIFA Best film TOIFA Best film TOIFA Best film TOIFA Best film- Barfi!
TOIFA Best Actor TOIFA Best Actor TOIFA Best Actor TOIFA Best Actor TOIFA Best Actor-Ranbir
Kapoor (for Barfi!)
TOIFA Best Actress TOIFA Best Actress TOIFA Best Actress TOIFA Best Actress TOIFA Best Actress- Priyanka
Chopra (for Barfi!)
TOIFA Best Supporting Actor TOIFA Best Supporting Actor TOIFA Best Supporting Actor TOIFA Best Supporting Actor TOIFA Best Supporting Actor
Male Male Male Male Male- Annu Kapoor (for Vicky
Donor)
TOIFA Best Supporting Actor TOIFA Best Supporting Actor TOIFA Best Supporting Actor TOIFA Best Supporting Actor TOIFA Best Supporting Actor
Female Female Female Female Female- Dolly Ahluwalia (for
Vicky Donor)
TOIFA Best Actor in Negative TOIFA Best Actor in Negative TOIFA Best Actor in Negative TOIFA Best Actor in Negative TOIFA Best Actor in Negative
Rol e Rol e Rol e Rol e Rol e- Rishi Kapoor (for
Agneepath)
TOIFA Best Actor in a Comic TOIFA Best Actor in a Comic TOIFA Best Actor in a Comic TOIFA Best Actor in a Comic TOIFA Best Actor in a Comic
Role Role Role Role Role- Abhishek Bachchan (for
Bol Bachchan)
TOIFA Best Debut Actor TOIFA Best Debut Actor TOIFA Best Debut Actor TOIFA Best Debut Actor TOIFA Best Debut Actor
Male Male Male Male Male- Ayushman Khurana (for
Vicky Donor)
TOIFA Best Debut Actor TOIFA Best Debut Actor TOIFA Best Debut Actor TOIFA Best Debut Actor TOIFA Best Debut Actor
Female Female Female Female Female- Ileana DCruz (for
Barfi!)
TOIFA Best Director TOIFA Best Director TOIFA Best Director TOIFA Best Director TOIFA Best Director - Anurag
Basu (for Barfi!)
TOIFA Best Music Director TOIFA Best Music Director TOIFA Best Music Director TOIFA Best Music Director TOIFA Best Music Director-
Ajay Atul (for Agneepath)
TOIFA Best Lyricist TOIFA Best Lyricist TOIFA Best Lyricist TOIFA Best Lyricist TOIFA Best Lyricist - Gulzar
(for Jab Tak Hai Jaan)
TOIFA Best Playback Singer TOIFA Best Playback Singer TOIFA Best Playback Singer TOIFA Best Playback Singer TOIFA Best Playback Singer
Mal e Mal e Mal e Mal e Mal e- Sonu Nigam (for
Agneepath song Abhi Mujhme
Kahi)
TOIFA Best Playback Singer TOIFA Best Playback Singer TOIFA Best Playback Singer TOIFA Best Playback Singer TOIFA Best Playback Singer
Female Female Female Female Female- Shalmali Kholgade
(for Ishaqzaade song Shalmali
Kholgade)
TOIFA 2013 Best Actor Male TOIFA 2013 Best Actor Male TOIFA 2013 Best Actor Male TOIFA 2013 Best Actor Male TOIFA 2013 Best Actor Male
(Critics) (Critics) (Critics) (Critics) (Critics) - Irfaan Khan (for
Paan Singh Tomar)
TOIFA 2013 Best Actor TOIFA 2013 Best Actor TOIFA 2013 Best Actor TOIFA 2013 Best Actor TOIFA 2013 Best Actor
Female (Critics) Female (Critics) Female (Critics) Female (Critics) Female (Critics) - Deepika
Padukone (for Cocktail)
TOIFA 2013 Best Debut TOIFA 2013 Best Debut TOIFA 2013 Best Debut TOIFA 2013 Best Debut TOIFA 2013 Best Debut
Director (Critics) Director (Critics) Director (Critics) Director (Critics) Director (Critics) - Gaur i
Schinde (for English Vinglish)
NDTV Business Leadership NDTV Business Leadership NDTV Business Leadership NDTV Business Leadership NDTV Business Leadership
Awards 2013 Awards 2013 Awards 2013 Awards 2013 Awards 2013
The National Thermal Power
Corporation Ltd was conferred with
the Business Leader in the Power
Sector at the NDTV Business
Leadership Awards in New Delhi on
9 April 2013. The award was given
by Deputy Chairman of the Planning
Commission of India, Montek Singh
Ahluwalia. Other top business
leaders of India were also awarded
on the occasion.
About National Thermal Power About National Thermal Power About National Thermal Power About National Thermal Power About National Thermal Power
Corporation Ltd (NTPC) Corporation Ltd (NTPC) Corporation Ltd (NTPC) Corporation Ltd (NTPC) Corporation Ltd (NTPC)
National Thermal Power
Corporation Ltd (NTPC) is the
largest power company of
India. It was established in
1975 for accelerating the
power development in India.
In the 2012 Forbes Global
2000 ranking of World s
biggest companies, NTPC was
ranked at 337th position.
By 2032, NTPC has an aim of
becoming 128000 MW
Company from the present
capacity of 40674 MW.
Most Efficient Maharatna-In Most Efficient Maharatna-In Most Efficient Maharatna-In Most Efficient Maharatna-In Most Efficient Maharatna-In
Manufacturing for the Year 2012 Manufacturing for the Year 2012 Manufacturing for the Year 2012 Manufacturing for the Year 2012 Manufacturing for the Year 2012
Award Award Award Award Award
The National Thermal Power
Corporation Ltd, the largest power
utility of India was awarded the
most Efficient Maharatna-in
Manufacturing for the year 2012
award by Stock Magazine at 4th DSIJ
Award in the last week of March
2013 in New Delhi. Director
(Commercial), NTPC received the
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award from Union Minister of Civil
Aviation. In its future initiatives,
NTPC started green initiatives. NTPC
is working on setting up the Solar
Plants in Andaman and Nicobar
Islands as well as Greater Noida
regions. The 5 MW Solar Project in
Andaman is coming up near the Port
Blair Airport. On the other hand, 5
MW Greater Noida project is in its
final construction phase. NTPC also
targets to add 1000 MW of Solar and
Wind Capacity in the country in
coming few years. The Wind Power
Projects will come up in certain
states including Karnataka. Solar
Power Generation Projects on the
other hand, will come up in
Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. At
present, there are seven Maharatna
companies, after inclusion of BHEL
and GAIL and these companies are
- ONGC, Indian Oil, SAIL, NTPC and
CIL. NTPC was conferred with the
Maharatna status in 2010. The core
business of NTPC is construction,
engineering as well as operation of
power generating plants. It also
provides power utilities in India as
well as abroad.
Abel Prize 2013 Abel Prize 2013 Abel Prize 2013 Abel Prize 2013 Abel Prize 2013
Belgian Mathematician Pierre
Deligne won the Abel prize 2013.
The Norwegian Academy of
Sciences and Letters announced the
award at the academy in Oslo on 20
March 2013.The prize will be given
by His Majesty King Harald V of
Norway at an award ceremony in
Oslo on 21 May 2013. Delignes most
famous contributions was his
spectacular proof of the last and the
deepest of the (Andr) Weil
conjectures in 1973, for which he
got the Fields Medal award in 1978.
He also got the Crafoord Prize in
1988 jointly with Alexander
Grothendieck. He also provided the
solution of the Weil conjectures
which made him famous in the
world of mathematics at a very
young age. The Abel Prize is
considered equivalent to the Nobel
Prize.It recognises contributions of
extraordinary depth and influence
in mathematical sciences. It carries
a cash award of 6 million Norwegian
krone (1 million US Dollars).The
academy instituted this award in
2002. The Abel prize was given for
the first time in 2003.
Excellence in Corporate Excellence in Corporate Excellence in Corporate Excellence in Corporate Excellence in Corporate
Governance for 2012 Presented Governance for 2012 Presented Governance for 2012 Presented Governance for 2012 Presented Governance for 2012 Presented
The Chairman of the Awards
Jury of Institute of Company
Secretaries of India (ICSI) along with
former Chief Justice of India, Justice
M. N. Venkatachaliah on 5 April 2013
presented the ICSI National ICSI National ICSI National ICSI National ICSI National
Awards for Excellence in Awards for Excellence in Awards for Excellence in Awards for Excellence in Awards for Excellence in
Corporate Governance -2012 Corporate Governance -2012 Corporate Governance -2012 Corporate Governance -2012 Corporate Governance -2012 t o
two Best Governed Companies.
These two companies were Indian Indian Indian Indian Indian
Oil Corporation Limited Oil Corporation Limited Oil Corporation Limited Oil Corporation Limited Oil Corporation Limited and HCL HCL HCL HCL HCL
Technologies Limited Technologies Limited Technologies Limited Technologies Limited Technologies Limited.
These awards were presented
duri ng the ongoi ng 2nd CSIA 2nd CSIA 2nd CSIA 2nd CSIA 2nd CSIA
International Corporate International Corporate International Corporate International Corporate International Corporate
Governance Conference Governance Conference Governance Conference Governance Conference Governance Conference. The
Company Secretaries of the
awardee companies, Raju
Ranganathan- the Company
Secretary of Indian Oil Corporation
Limited as well as Manish Anand-
the Company Secretary of HCL
Technologies Limited were
honoured for the contribution in
adhering to good corporate
governance practices.
ICSI Life Time Achievement ICSI Life Time Achievement ICSI Life Time Achievement ICSI Life Time Achievement ICSI Life Time Achievement
Award Award Award Award Award for the year 2012 was
conferred upon Deepak S. Parekh,
Chairman, Housing Development
Finance Corporation Ltd. He was
given the award for translating
excellence in Corporate
Governance into reality.
Apart from this, the
Certificates of Recognition Certificates of Recognition Certificates of Recognition Certificates of Recognition Certificates of Recognition were
presented to the top five companies
which were:
CMC Limited
Engineers India Limited
ONGC Limited
Persistent Systems Ltd.
Powergrid Corporation of
India Limited
FE Indias Best FE Indias Best FE Indias Best FE Indias Best FE Indias Best
Bank Award 2012-13 Bank Award 2012-13 Bank Award 2012-13 Bank Award 2012-13 Bank Award 2012-13
J&K Bank on 26 March 2013
won the prestigious FE Indias Best FE Indias Best FE Indias Best FE Indias Best FE Indias Best
Banks Award-2012-13 Banks Award-2012-13 Banks Award-2012-13 Banks Award-2012-13 Banks Award-2012-13 i n
recognition of its strong
fundamentals and dynamic growth
model.
Others accolades in its ranking Others accolades in its ranking Others accolades in its ranking Others accolades in its ranking Others accolades in its ranking
The Bank has been ranked as
No. 1 i n Best Old Private Old Private Old Private Old Private Old Private
Sector Bank category Sector Bank category Sector Bank category Sector Bank category Sector Bank category in the
survey conducted across the
banking industry.
In terms of Profitability, Profitability, Profitability, Profitability, Profitability, t he
Bank stands 3rd in the overall
banking industry while as 1ST
in the category of Old private
sector banks.
Jammu and Kashmir Bank is
about to achieve a milestone
business turnover in its platinum
jubilee year. In line with the industry
best practices of according high
priority to risk applications the bank
is hopeful of further strengthening
their growth, increase efficiency in
both short and long term.
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Remarkably, the survey
differentiates between the various
categories of banks - public sector,
private sector: old and new and
foreign banks - in recognition of their
differing operating environments
and awards those institutions that
have maximized stakeholder
value. The methodology adopted
by the survey is rigorous and is
based on extensive crunching of
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data by
the Express Groups knowledge
partner, Ernst & Young.
It is important here to note that
the Bank has won the prestigious
award in 2011 also.
News Television Awards 2013 News Television Awards 2013 News Television Awards 2013 News Television Awards 2013 News Television Awards 2013
Vineet Jain, the Managing
Director of Times Group was
conferred with the Contribution to
News Television Award 2013 by the
Indiantelevision.com at the Sixth
News Television Awards on 25
March 2013 at Taj Palace Hotel, New
Delhi. He was awarded for his
initiative to bring Times of India
group in the television industry. It
is worth noticing that the Times of
India group made its presence in the
television broadcasting with
channels such as Zoom, ET and
Times Now. Executive President of
the Times Group, Rahul Kansal
accepted this award on behalf of
Vineet Jain.
Other awardees were as follows Other awardees were as follows Other awardees were as follows Other awardees were as follows Other awardees were as follows
Best Business News
Programme (English): We
Mean Business (NDTV Profit)
Best Business News
Best TV News Reporter
(Marathi): Alka Dhupkar (IBN
Lokmat)
(Telugu): Krishna Mohan (TV9)
(English): Anubha Bhonsle
(CNN-IBN) and Barkha Dutt
(NDTV 24x7)
(Hindi): Sharad Sharma
(NDTV India)
Special Awards for Innovation
and Leadership in App
Development: NDTV
Special Awards for Most
Extensive Social Media TV
News Brand: NDTV
Special Awards for Best News
Channel Website: IBN Live
Best News Talk Show
(English): We the People
(NDTV 24x7)
Best News Talk Show (Hindi):
Zindagi Live - Gujarat Riots
(IBN7)
Best TV News Anchor
(Marathi): Dnyanada Arvind
Chavan (ABP Majha)
Best TV News Anchor
(Telugu): Yashoda Mithra (V6
News)
Best TV News Anchor (Hindi):
Sweta Singh (Aaj Tak)
About the Sixth News Television About the Sixth News Television About the Sixth News Television About the Sixth News Television About the Sixth News Television
Awards Awards Awards Awards Awards
The News Television Awards
are given away by the
Indiantelevision.com.
The awards are given to
representatives of television
news channels which report in
English, Hindi, Marathi and
Telugu.
116 awards were given away
at the Sixth News Television
Awards in different categories
by the dignitaries in culture,
society, sports and politics.
The Information and
Broadcasting Minister of State,
Manish Tiwari was the Chief
Programme (Hindi): Auto
Expo (Aaj Tak)
Best Crime Show (Hindi):
Vardaat - Mhujhe Bhulana Mat
(Aaj Tak)
Best Current Affairs Feature
(English): Ground Zero
Gujarat (CNN-IBN)
Best Current Affairs Feature
(Hindi): Ayodhya Ko Kuchh
Kehna Hai (Aaj Tak)
Best Sports News Show
(Marathi): Khel Majha - Fight
Back Yuvi (ABP Majha)
Best Auto Show (Hindi): Top
Drive (IBN7)
Best Show on Social/
Environment Awareness /
Social Development
Campaign (Telugu): Bathuku
Bandi (Vanitha TV)
Best News Documentary -
Limited episodes (English):
Ground Zero Gujarat (CNN-
IBN)
Best Entertainment Feature
(Hindi): Jai Jawan (NDTV
India)
Best Public Debate Show
(English): Question Time Didi
(CNN-IBN)
Best TV News Presenter:
Rajdeep Sardesai (CNN-IBN)
Best Young TV Journalist
(Below 24 years of age): Sonal
Mehrotra (NDTV 24x7)
Special Award for News
Cinematographer: Prakasam
(CNN-IBN)
Special Award for
Contribution to News
Television: Vineet Jain (Times
Group)
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Guest for the Sixth News
Television Awards.
The awards were given away
in different categories such as
sports shows, crime shows,
documentaries with limited
episode, technology,
investigative feature,
entertainment news show, TV
news anchor, TV news
presenter and many more.
Special awards were also
given away in categories such
as Most Extensive Social
Media TV News Brand, News
C i n e m a t o g r a p h e r ,
Contribution to News
Television, Best News Channel
Website and Innovation and
Leadership in App
Development.
AIMA Managing India Awards AIMA Managing India Awards AIMA Managing India Awards AIMA Managing India Awards AIMA Managing India Awards
2013 2013 2013 2013 2013
The President of India, Pranab
Mukherjee presented the AIMA
Managing India Awards 2013 at a
function in New Delhi on 11 April
2013. The awards were given away
to people who contributed towards
the progress of the country. The aim
of the AIMA Managing India Awards
2013 was promotion of
management in all spheres of life.
The AIMA Managing India Awards
2013 are given to the people who
proved excellence in their fields.
The jury of these awards was
chaired by Sanjiv Goenka, Past
President, AIMA as well as the
Chairman, RP-Sanjiv Goenka
Group.
The list of awardees of AIMA The list of awardees of AIMA The list of awardees of AIMA The list of awardees of AIMA The list of awardees of AIMA
Managing India Awards 2013 is as Managing India Awards 2013 is as Managing India Awards 2013 is as Managing India Awards 2013 is as Managing India Awards 2013 is as
follows: follows: follows: follows: follows:
Mukesh Ambani, Chairman &
Managing Director, Reliance
Industries Ltd
Pawan Munjal, MD and CEO,
Hero MotoCorp Ltd
Keshub Mahindra, Chairman
Emeritus, Mahindra &
Mahindra
Shyam S Bhartia, Chairman &
Co-Founder, Jubilant Bhartia
Group and
Hari S Bhartia, Co-Chairman &
Founder, Jubilant Bhartia
Group
Prannoy Roy, Executive Co-
Chairperson, NDTV
Bhaskar Bhat, Managing
Director, Titan Industries Ltd
About All India Management About All India Management About All India Management About All India Management About All India Management
Association (AIMA) Association (AIMA) Association (AIMA) Association (AIMA) Association (AIMA)
All India Management
Association was formed as
apex body of professional
management along with the
assistance of the Government
of India and Industry in 1957.
AIMA is the federation of
Local Management
Associations (LMAs).
At present, it affiliates 64
LMAs in India and 2 co-
operating management
associations- Mauritius
Management Association and
Qatar Indian Management
Association.
National Award for Excellence National Award for Excellence National Award for Excellence National Award for Excellence National Award for Excellence
2011-12 2011-12 2011-12 2011-12 2011-12
The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group
was conferred with the National
Award for Excellence in Hospitality
Education 2011-12 for the category
Hotel undertaking skill development
in the hospitality sector, on 5 April
2013. The award was given away by
Minister of State for Tourism, Dr K
Chiranjeevi. Chairman and Managing
Director of the Lalit Suri Hospitality
Group, Jyotsna Suri received the
award.
About Lalit Suri Hospitality About Lalit Suri Hospitality About Lalit Suri Hospitality About Lalit Suri Hospitality About Lalit Suri Hospitality
Group: Project Disha Group: Project Disha Group: Project Disha Group: Project Disha Group: Project Disha
Lalit Suri Hospitality Group has
the Project called Disha, which is
actually a part of the Corporate
Social Responsibility policy. Disha
offers local youth as well as the
school students, an access to quality
education which in turn would turn
Vivek Kumar Jain, Managing
Director, Gujarat
Fluorochemicals Ltd
Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd
(Mr BP Rao, Chairman &
Managing Director, BHEL
received the award)
Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (Mr
Nitin Paranjpe,CEO &
Managing Director, HUL
received the award)
Tata Motors (Karl Slym,
Managing Director, Tata
Motors received the award)
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into employment. There are 3500
students at present that passed out
of various Disha centres. Project
Disha also includes the employment
oriented vocational training in
various sectors such as spoken
English courses, life skills training,
computer literacy and hospitality
sector.
New York Times won Four New York Times won Four New York Times won Four New York Times won Four New York Times won Four
Pulitzer Prizes including the Pulitzer Prizes including the Pulitzer Prizes including the Pulitzer Prizes including the Pulitzer Prizes including the
Award for Investigative Reporting Award for Investigative Reporting Award for Investigative Reporting Award for Investigative Reporting Award for Investigative Reporting
The New York Times won four
Pulitzer Prizes on 15 April 2013,
including the award for investigative
reporting for stories that detailed
how Wal-Mart used bribery to
expand in Mexico. The other awards
included two awards for its
reporting on the actions of
companies like Apple and Wal-Mart
overseas, and another for an
examination of the hidden wealth of
the Chinese premiers family. The
fourth award for The New York
Times went to John Branch for his
feature Snow Fall, on a fatal
avalanche in the Cascade Mountains
in Washington State.The Pulitzer
Prize for fiction was won by author
Adam Johnson for his novel based
i n North Korea, The Orphan
Masters Son.
Other awardees are as Other awardees are as Other awardees are as Other awardees are as Other awardees are as
following: following: following: following: following:
The Sun Sentinel in Fort
Lauderdale, Florida, was
awarded the public service
Pulitzer for its reporting of
reckless driving by off-duty
police officers.
The Associated Press won
Pulitzer in breaking news
photography for its coverage
of the civil war in Syria.
InsideClimate News won the
prize for national reporting for
its coverage of dangers posed
by oil pipelines.
The fiction prize was given to
Adam Johnson for The
Orphan Masters Son.
The Star Tribune in
Minneapolis won two
Pulitzers, one for local
reporting on the rise in infant
deaths at badly regulated day
care centers and another for
editorial cartooning by Steve
Sack.
The Wall Street Journal won
one Pulitzer Prize for Bret
Stephenss commentary on
politics and American foreign
policy.
The Washington Post won a
Pulitzer Prize for Philip
Kennicotts criticism of art and
the social forces that underlie
it.
The Denver Post won in the
award for breaking news for
its coverage of the theater
shootings last summer in
Aurora, Colo.
The Sun Sentinel in Fort
Lauderdale, Fla., received its
first Pulitzer, winning in the
public service category for its
reporting on how off-duty
police officers were often
speeders who endangered the
lives of residents.
Ayad Akhtar won the drama
award for Disgraced, a play
about a corporate lawyer who
long disguises his Pakistani
Muslim heritage, and Sharon
Olds won the poetry award for
Stags Leap.
2nd National Photo Awards for 2nd National Photo Awards for 2nd National Photo Awards for 2nd National Photo Awards for 2nd National Photo Awards for
the Year 2011-2012 the Year 2011-2012 the Year 2011-2012 the Year 2011-2012 the Year 2011-2012
The 2nd National Photo 2nd National Photo 2nd National Photo 2nd National Photo 2nd National Photo
Awards for the year 2011- Awards for the year 2011- Awards for the year 2011- Awards for the year 2011- Awards for the year 2011-
2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 were given away on 28 March
2013 at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.
The awards were conferred by the
Speaker of the Lok Sabha Meira
Kumar to eminent photojournalists.
The most important Life-Time
Achievement Awards were given
away to some of the renowned
photographers such as Pranlal Patel,
T.S. Nagarajan and T.N.A. Perumal.
Other awardees in different
categories were as follows:
List of Awardees at the 2nd List of Awardees at the 2nd List of Awardees at the 2nd List of Awardees at the 2nd List of Awardees at the 2nd
National Photo Awards National Photo Awards National Photo Awards National Photo Awards National Photo Awards
Li feti me Achi evement Li feti me Achi evement Li feti me Achi evement Li feti me Achi evement Li feti me Achi evement
Award Award Award Award Award- Pranlal Patel, T.S.
Nagarajan and T.N.A. Perumal
Best Professi onal Best Professi onal Best Professi onal Best Professi onal Best Professi onal
Photographer of the Year Photographer of the Year Photographer of the Year Photographer of the Year Photographer of the Year
2011-12 2011-12 2011-12 2011-12 2011-12- Salil Bera
Professional Photographer of Professional Photographer of Professional Photographer of Professional Photographer of Professional Photographer of
the Year 2011-12 on Green the Year 2011-12 on Green the Year 2011-12 on Green the Year 2011-12 on Green the Year 2011-12 on Green
India India India India India: Environmental Stories-
Pankaj Sharma
Professional Photographer of Professional Photographer of Professional Photographer of Professional Photographer of Professional Photographer of
the Year 2011-12 on Open the Year 2011-12 on Open the Year 2011-12 on Open the Year 2011-12 on Open the Year 2011-12 on Open
Category Category Category Category Category- Anil Risal Singh
Speci al Menti on Awards Speci al Menti on Awards Speci al Menti on Awards Speci al Menti on Awards Speci al Menti on Awards
(Professional) (Professional) (Professional) (Professional) (Professional) - Anand Patel,
Atul Choubey, Shib Narayan
Acharya, Kailash Soni, Vinod
Gajjar, Chetan Soni, Dilip
Lokre, Kailash Mittal, Sanat
Kumar Sinha and Shankar
Mandal Mondal
Best Amateur Photographer Best Amateur Photographer Best Amateur Photographer Best Amateur Photographer Best Amateur Photographer
of the Year 2011-12 of the Year 2011-12 of the Year 2011-12 of the Year 2011-12 of the Year 2011-12- Subhash
Jirange
of the Year 2011-12 on Life of the Year 2011-12 on Life of the Year 2011-12 on Life of the Year 2011-12 on Life of the Year 2011-12 on Life
and Landscape of Indi a and Landscape of Indi a and Landscape of Indi a and Landscape of Indi a and Landscape of Indi a-
Sudip Roychoudhury
of the Year 2011-12 on Fine of the Year 2011-12 on Fine of the Year 2011-12 on Fine of the Year 2011-12 on Fine of the Year 2011-12 on Fine
Arts Arts Arts Arts Arts- Debashish Ghosh Ray
Speci al Menti on Awards Speci al Menti on Awards Speci al Menti on Awards Speci al Menti on Awards Speci al Menti on Awards
(Amateur) category (Amateur) category (Amateur) category (Amateur) category (Amateur) category- Asis
Kumar Sanyal, Joydeep
Mukherjee, Manish Bhatnagar,
Debashis Tarafder, Sirsendu
Gayen, Subhrajit Basu,
Dhrumil Desai, Subir Kumar
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Dutta, Ganesh Shankar and
Rajesh Joshi
About the National Photo About the National Photo About the National Photo About the National Photo About the National Photo
Awards Awards Awards Awards Awards
The National Photo Awards
are given away by the
Government of India to the
eminent photojournalists in
different categories.
These awards are given away
to the professional and
amateur photographers.
These were the second
National Photo Awards, given
away for the year 2011-2012.
The second National Photo
Awards were conferred by the
Speaker of Lok Sabha, Meira
Kumar.
John Bates Clark Medal For 2013 John Bates Clark Medal For 2013 John Bates Clark Medal For 2013 John Bates Clark Medal For 2013 John Bates Clark Medal For 2013
Delhi-born Raj Chetty Raj Chetty Raj Chetty Raj Chetty Raj Chetty, the
professor in the Department of
Economy at the Harvard University
won John Bates Clark medal for
2013, also called Baby Nobel. Raj
Chettys work was also cited by the
US President Barack Obama in State
of the Union Address. John Bates
Clark medal is conferred upon the
American economist whose age is
below 40 years and the one who has
made crucial contribution to
economic knowledge and thought.
Baby Nobel is one of the most
prestigious awards of economy.
Infact, it is second only after
Nobel Prize in economic science.
Raj Chetty Raj Chetty Raj Chetty Raj Chetty Raj Chetty, 33, is the first Indian-
origin person to win this high
honour. His areas of work include
social insurance, tax policy as well
as education policy. American
Economic Association Honors and
Awards Committee described that
Raj Chettys contributions assimilate
evidence by making use of various
methodological perspectives in
order to find out answers of public
policy questions. Raj Chetty
graduated from Harvard University
in 2000. He completed the PhD from
Harvard University in 2003.
About the John Bates Clark About the John Bates Clark About the John Bates Clark About the John Bates Clark About the John Bates Clark
medal medal medal medal medal
John Bates Clark medal used
to be conferred upon the
economists biennially from
1947-2009.
From 2010 onwards, the
medal started being given
annually.
Notable winners from the past
include Paul Samuelson,
Joseph Stiglitz, Paul Krugman
and Milton Friedman. All these
are also the Nobel laureates.
This award is also known as
Baby Nobel because a lot of
winners of John Bates Clark
medal have also won the
Nobel awards.
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PJ Kurien PJ Kurien PJ Kurien PJ Kurien PJ Kurien
Deputy Chairman of Rajya
Sabha, PJ Kurien on 11 April 2013
was unanimously elected as the
Chairman of the prestigious Asian
Forum of Parliamentarians on
Population and Development
(AFPPD) during the during the 73rd
Executive Committee Meeting of
AFPPD at Bangkok. He replaced
Yasuo Fukuda, former Prime
Minister of Japan as the Chairman
of AFPPD.
PJ Kurien at present is also the
Chairman of the Indian Association
of Parliamentarians on Population
and Development.
In The News
About Asian Forum of About Asian Forum of About Asian Forum of About Asian Forum of About Asian Forum of
Parliamentarians on Population Parliamentarians on Population Parliamentarians on Population Parliamentarians on Population Parliamentarians on Population
and Development (AFPPD) and Development (AFPPD) and Development (AFPPD) and Development (AFPPD) and Development (AFPPD)
AFPPD was established in 1981
as a regional non-governmental
organization to serve as a
coordinating body of twenty five
National Committees of
Parliamentarians on Population and
Development.
It seeks to generate
cooperation and support among the
Asian Parliamentarians in different
areas like population and
Development.
It is committed towards
educating, motivating, involving and
mobilizing the parliamentarians on
linkages between the increase in
population and different issues that
includes sustainable development,
reproductive health, family
planning, food security, water
resources, HIV/AIDS, migration,
environment, urbanization, ageing
and gender equality.
Nicolas Maduro Nicolas Maduro Nicolas Maduro Nicolas Maduro Nicolas Maduro
Nicolas Maduro Nicolas Maduro Nicolas Maduro Nicolas Maduro Nicolas Maduro of the United
Socialist Party of Venezuela was
sworn in as the new President of
Venezuela on 19 April 2013 in a
ceremony by the National Assembly
Speaker Diosdado Cabello. Nicolas
Maduro, 50, succeeded late
President of Venezuela, Hugo
Chavez who died on 5 March 2013.
He was elected as the
President, beating the opposition
leader Henrique Capriles by just 1.5
percent votes. The aim of the new
President is to deal with the
corruption along with carrying the
social programmes of Hugo
Chavez.
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In The News In The News In The News In The News In The News
Rajan Bharti Mittal Rajan Bharti Mittal Rajan Bharti Mittal Rajan Bharti Mittal Rajan Bharti Mittal
The Vice Chairman and
Managing Director of Bharti
Enterprises Rajan Bharti Mittal on 31
March 2013 appointed as the
President of International Chamber
of Commerce (ICC) India. The
appointment of Rajan Bharti Mittal
came at the conclusion of 82nd
Annual General Meeting of ICC
India. ICC India is the Indian affiliate
of the Paris-based ICC, the world
business organisation with presence
in over 90 countries. Bharti Airtel a
group company of Bharti
Enterprises, is a leading global
telecommunications company with
operations in 20 countries across
Asia and Africa.
About International Chamber of About International Chamber of About International Chamber of About International Chamber of About International Chamber of
Commerce (ICC) India Commerce (ICC) India Commerce (ICC) India Commerce (ICC) India Commerce (ICC) India
ICC India is one of the most
active chapters of the ICC, the
worlds apex business organisation.
In its fold, it has a large membership
of corporates, chambers of
commerce, trade & industry
associations, consultancy
organisations. The International
linkages of ICC INDIA are far and
wide.
The ICC network speaks,
directly and indirectly, for
thousands of individual
corporations and industrial and
trade associations in over 140
countries. As the process of
economic reforms is gaining ground,
ICC India is emerging as a rallying
point for Indian business in their
effort towards globalisation.
Sunil Bharti Mittal Sunil Bharti Mittal Sunil Bharti Mittal Sunil Bharti Mittal Sunil Bharti Mittal
Sunil Bharti Mittal , the
Chairman and Group CEO of Bharti
Enterprises in the month of April
2013 appointed as the Vice-
Chairman of the International
Chamber of Commerce (ICC),which
is one of the worlds oldest global
business organisations.
With the appointment as the
Vice Chairman of ICC, Mittal became
the third business person from India
in the history of ICC to be appointed
on the ICC Executive Board. Earlier
it was Bharat Ram (1969-1971), and
Hari Shankar Singhania (1993-1994)
who were appointed to ICC.Bharat
Ram is also counted as the first
Indian to be appointed as the
Chairman of the ICC Executive
Board.
The role of ICC is to help in
driving global economic growth by
reducing barriers to trade and
economic opportunity. The ICC
World Council elected the new ICC
leaders at a meeting held in Doha,
Qatar. ICC which was founded in
1919, represents private-sector
views to national governments and
inter-governmental bodies around
the world.
Krishna Kumar Natrajan Krishna Kumar Natrajan Krishna Kumar Natrajan Krishna Kumar Natrajan Krishna Kumar Natrajan
Krishnakumar Natarajan, CEO
and Director of Mindtree on 8 April
2013 was appointed as the
Chairman of Nasscom for the year
2013-14. He succeeded N
Chandrasekaran, MD and CEO of
TCS, who was the Chairman for the
year 2012-13. R Chandrasekaran,
Cognizant Group Chief Executive
(Technology & Operations) was
appointed as the Vice Chairman of
the Executive Council.
NASSCOM NASSCOM NASSCOM NASSCOM NASSCOM
NASSCOM Foundation is a
non-profit organization that
represents the Indian IT BPO
industry and it played a
leading role in developing the
Indian IT-BPO industry to
reach mark of 100 billion
dollar industry.
M F Farooqui M F Farooqui M F Farooqui M F Farooqui M F Farooqui
M F Farooqui on 1 April 2013
took over charge as the secretary of
the Department of
Telecommunications (DoT). He
replaced R Chandrashekhar who
retired in the month of March 2013.
Prior to his appointment, Farooqui
was the secretary for the
Department of Heavy Industries. He
worked in ministry only once many
decades ago as a deputy secretary
in between 1990-91 as a private
secretary to the minister.
Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano
Italys Parliament on 20 April
2013 re-elected Giorgio Napolitano
to an unparalleled second term as
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president. Giorgio Napolitano will
be the first Italian president to be
re-elected to serve a second term.
The party leaders convinced the 87-
year-old Giorgio Napolitano to serve
again in hopes of easing the hostility
that has let down the formation of a
new government. Napolitano
received 738 votes, out of 1007
votes which are far more than the
504 needed for victory easily
surpassing the simple majority
needed in the sixth round of an
election. As per the Article 84 As per the Article 84 As per the Article 84 As per the Article 84 As per the Article 84 of
the Italian Constitution, any citizen
who is fifty or older on Day of
Election and enjoys civil and
political rights can be elected
President.
Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Kenyatta
Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Kenyatta was sworn-in
as the new President of Kenya President of Kenya President of Kenya President of Kenya President of Kenyaon 9
April 2013. He is the fourth
president of Kenya. Kenyatta
clinched victory in a tightly fought
race for Kenyas presidency on 9
March 2013 against Raila Odinga. He
won with 50.07 percent votes in the
election. It is very important to note
that Uhuru Kenyatta along with
William Ruto are are wanted by the
International Criminal Court (ICC) on
charges of crimes against humanity
from alleged role in the countrys
2007-2008 election.
About Uhuru Kenyatta About Uhuru Kenyatta About Uhuru Kenyatta About Uhuru Kenyatta About Uhuru Kenyatta
Uhuru Kenyatta is Jomo
Kenyattas son. Jomo Kenyatta
was the first President of
Kenya.
He also served as the Deputy
Prime Minister (2008 to 2013),
Finance Minister (2009 to
2012) under President Mwai
Kibaki as well as Minister for
Trade (in April 2008).
Uhuru Kenyatta, at the age of
51 years is the youngest
President of Kenya.
He also served as Member of
Parliament for Gatundu South
Constituency starting from
2002.
He was the Chairman of Kenya
African National Union
(KANU). KANU is the part of
Party of National Unity (PNU).
Kenya Presidential Election 2013 Kenya Presidential Election 2013 Kenya Presidential Election 2013 Kenya Presidential Election 2013 Kenya Presidential Election 2013
Jubilee Alliance coalition
nominated Uhuru for presidential
race against Raila Odinga. Uhuru
Kenyatta needed over 50 percent of
the national vote to avoid a run-off.
He received 50.07 percent in the
election and became the President
of Kenya. Uhuru Kenyattas party,
The National Alliance (Kenya) (TNA)
formed alliance with United
Republican Party (URP) of William
Ruto, National Rainbow Coalition
party of Charity Ngilu and
Republican Congress Party (RCP) of
Najib Balala. This coalition was
called Jubilee Alliance coalition.
Narendra Kumar Verma Narendra Kumar Verma Narendra Kumar Verma Narendra Kumar Verma Narendra Kumar Verma
Narendra Kumar Verma on 4
April 2013 was appointed as the
new director of the state-owned Oil
and Natural Gas Corps (ONGC)
Exploration. 54 year old Narendra
Kumar Verma would be replacing
S.V. Rao, who term super-annuated
on 31 March 2013. As Director-
Exploration at OVL, Responsibility
of N.K. Verma is to look for
development and implementation
of exploration strategy and Business
Development for past 15 months.
Aruna Bahuguna Aruna Bahuguna Aruna Bahuguna Aruna Bahuguna Aruna Bahuguna
Aruna Bahuguna, Senior IPS
Officer on 18 April 2013 was
appointed as the new Special
Director General of CRPF, Indias
largest paramilitary force. With her
appointment to the office of the
special DG, Aruna Bahuguna (a
1979-batch Andhra Pradesh Cadre
Officer) became the first women
officer to be appointed to the top
position in the hierarchy of the
Force. At present, Bahuguna is
serving as the chairperson of AP
Police Housing Corporation. With
this appointment in the office,
Bahuguna will assume charge as
number two in the largest central
police force and will be in-charge
of operations.
S Gopalakrishnan S Gopalakrishnan S Gopalakrishnan S Gopalakrishnan S Gopalakrishnan
S Gopalakrishnan, the co-
founder and Executive Co-Chairman
of Infosys, on 5 April 2013 was
elected as the President of the
industry body Confederation of
Indian Industry (CII) for the year
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2013-14. He is succeeding Adi
Godrej, Chairman of the Godrej
Group.
S Gopalakrishnan, who is also
a Padma Bhushan recipient,
Gopalakrishnan was in recent times
was voted as the top CEO (IT
services category) in Institutional
Investors inaugural ranking of Asias
Top Executives, and was selected
as one of the winners of the second
Asian Corporate Director
Recognition Awards by Corporate
Governance Asia. Ajay S Shriram,
Chairman of DCM Shriram
Consolidated Ltd, is President
Designate of CII for the year 2013-
2014. Sumit Mazumder Vice-
Chairman and Managing Director of
Tractors India Pvt Ltd has been
elected as the Vice-President of the
business chamber for the year.
H.R. Mohan H.R. Mohan H.R. Mohan H.R. Mohan H.R. Mohan
H.R. Mohan on 16 April 2013
was elected as the Vice-President-
Cum-President Elect of Computer
Society of India (CSI). H.R. Mohan
is the Assistant Vice-President
(Systems), The Hindu.
About H.R. Mohan About H.R. Mohan About H.R. Mohan About H.R. Mohan About H.R. Mohan
Mr. Mohan is a graduate in
Engineering from IIT, Madras
Currently, he is working with
Indias National Newspaper, The
Hindu as Associate Vice President
(Systems)
About CSI About CSI About CSI About CSI About CSI
Computer Society of India
(CSI) was formed in 1965, and has
been instrumental in guiding the
Indian IT industry down the right
path since its formative years. At
present, the CSI has 70 chapters all
over India with 418 student
branches, and more than 90000
members including Indias most
famous IT industry leaders, brilliant
scientists and dedicated
academicians.
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Thatcher Margaret Thatcher Margaret Thatcher Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher, the Former
Prime Minister of Britain died due
to a stroke on 8 April 2013 at the age
of 87. Thatcher was the Prime
Minister of Britain from 1979 to 1990
from Conservative party of Britain
and was the first lady to hold the
post of Prime Minister. She
succeeded James Callaghan from
Labour Party and a Member of
Parliament from Cardiff South East.
She resigned from her office in 1990
after she returned from the Euro
Summit in Rome, after her policies
and her style of government led to
the growth of rebellion inside her
party. John Major succeeded her in
the office of the prime Minister.
About Margaret Thatcher About Margaret Thatcher About Margaret Thatcher About Margaret Thatcher About Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher was also
known as the Iron Lady of
Britain and was born on 13
October 1925 in Grantham,
Lincolnshire
She got married Denis
Thatcher, a divorced
businessman
In 1953 she qualified as a
barrister and in the same year
gave birth twins named Mark
and Carol
During her reign in the Prime
Ministers Office, many of the
state-owned industries of the
country were privatized the
initial two companies were
British Gas and BT
At Somerville College, Oxford,
she graduated in chemistry
and was the only third female
President of the Oxford
University Conservative
Association
She got involved with the
Conservative Party
organization in Colchester;
while working for a plastic
company
Political Career of Margaret Political Career of Margaret Political Career of Margaret Political Career of Margaret Political Career of Margaret
Thatcher Thatcher Thatcher Thatcher Thatcher
In 1959, she became the
Member of Parliament for
Finchley, North London for
Conservative Party and was
elected as a junior minister
and soon promoted to the
shadow cabinet in 1964 after
the conservative party was
defeated in the general
elections
She was chosen as the
Conservative candidate for
Dartford seat in Kent but she
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lost the 1950 and 1951 general
elections from the same seat;
at that time she was the
youngest ever conservative
candidate
In 1970 she became the
education secretary, when
Ted Heath was the Prime
Minister of Britain
She was termed as the Milk
Snatcher, after she ordered
withdrawal of the free milk for
children in the age group of
seven to eleven
She was given the title of the
Iron Lady by a Russian
newspaper after she criticized
the repressive policies of
Soviet Union in her speech in
1976
She won general elections in
1979, 1983 and 1987 after
making a successful challenge
to the former Prime Minister
Edward Heath in 1975
She was in power, when the
UK went to war with Argentina
over the Falkland Islands in
1982
She retired from the House Of
Commons in 1992
Monetary Policies as the Prime Monetary Policies as the Prime Monetary Policies as the Prime Monetary Policies as the Prime Monetary Policies as the Prime
Minister Minister Minister Minister Minister
To curb the inflation and
control the finances of the country,
she privatized the state owned
industries. She also allowed the
owners of houses in the councils to
buy their houses. As a result of
which, people with zero or
negligible stake in the economy of
the nation got a chance to own
houses and invest in the shares of
the business houses those were
owned by the state.
She wrote two Memoirs namely She wrote two Memoirs namely She wrote two Memoirs namely She wrote two Memoirs namely She wrote two Memoirs namely
Campaigning against the
Maastricht Treaty
Condemning the Serbian
policy of ethnic cleansing in
Bosnia
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Thatcher Margaret Thatcher Margaret Thatcher Margaret Thatcher
Renowned violinist and
composer Lalgudi Jayaraman died
in Chennai on 22 April 2013 at 82
because of illness. He is said to be
equivalent to Pandit Ravi Shankar, in
the violin. He is survived by his son
and daughter, both of whom are the
renowned violinists as well.
RP Goenka RP Goenka RP Goenka RP Goenka RP Goenka
Industrialist R.P. Goenka
passed away on 14 April 2013 at his
residence at the age of 83. He is
survived by his wife Sushila and his
sons Harsha Vardhan and Sanjiv. RP
Goenka established RPG Enterprises
in the year 1979. It included Phillips
Carbon Black, Asian Cables,
Agarpara Jute Mill and Murphy
India. Other major companies in his
group are CESC, CEAT, Spencers
and Saregama. In post-
independence India his
contribution to industry was
considered among the highest.
Robert Edwards Robert Edwards Robert Edwards Robert Edwards Robert Edwards
British Scientist and Pioneer of
in Vitro Fertilization (test-tube baby)
Robert Edwards died at the age of
87 on 10 April 2013. In late 1970s,
he along with his colleague Dr.
Patrick Steptoe became famous for
development of the vitro
fertilization technique that resulted
in the birth of worlds first test-tube
baby Louise Brown in 1978. He was
awarded the awarded the 2010
Nobel Prize in medicine for
discovery of the first test-tube baby
and providing the basis for genetic
screening and stem cell research.
JS Verma JS Verma JS Verma JS Verma JS Verma
Justice JS Verma, the former
Chief Justice of India died on 22
April 2013 in New Delhi after
multiple organ failure. He was of 80
years.
About Justice Jagdish Sharan About Justice Jagdish Sharan About Justice Jagdish Sharan About Justice Jagdish Sharan About Justice Jagdish Sharan
Verma Verma Verma Verma Verma
He was born on 18 January
1933 and completed his early
education in Satna, Madhya
Pradesh
He was the 27th Chief Justice
of India on 25 March 1997 and
retired on 18 January 1998
Justice Verma chaired the
committee that was
constituted by the
Government of India to frame
a tougher law to combat
crimes against women, in the
wake of the 16 December
2012 Delhi gang rape incident
in the moving bus
He served as the Chairperson
of the National Human Rights
Commission
He served as the first
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Chairperson of the News
Broadcasters Standards
Authority
In 1955, he started his legal
career and became judge of
the Madhya Pradesh High
Court in June 1973. In 1986 he
became the Chief Justice of
Madhya Pradesh High Court
and was the Chief Justice of
Rajasthan high court from
September, 1986 to 1989.
In June 1989, he was
appointed as a Judge in the
Supreme Court of India.
Historical cases that he heard as Historical cases that he heard as Historical cases that he heard as Historical cases that he heard as Historical cases that he heard as
a Judge and Chief Justice of a Judge and Chief Justice of a Judge and Chief Justice of a Judge and Chief Justice of a Judge and Chief Justice of
India India India India India
In 1994, he was the part of the
nine-judge bench that dealt
with the S R Bommai case
related to proclamation of
Presidents Rule under Article
356 of the Constitution in
Karnataka. The Judgment of
the Supreme Case after
hearing the case was that
Presidents proclamation can
be imposed only after
approval from Parliament.
He heard, Jain Hawala Case as
the Chief Justice of India in
his decision to the case, he
held that dairy notings that
contain the initials of some
persons doesnt amount to a
piece of evidence
He was the head of the bench
that heard Vishakha Case this
bench laid guidelines for
prevention of woman against
harassment at the workplace.
The Bench in its judgment
enhanced the scope of Article
21 Right to life and personal
liberty
He authored the Collegium of
the appointment of judges
that he later said that it needed
to be revisited
He wrote to the Prime Minister
of India to convert the self-
assessment of Judges Code of
Conduct into law to give it
statutory teeth
In the Shiv Sena leader
Manohar Joshi he set aside the
Bombay High Court verdict
holding the election Manohar
Joshi to Maharashtra
Assembly as void in 1996 In
this case, the Supreme Court
held that Hindutva is the way
of Life.
Roger Ebert Roger Ebert Roger Ebert Roger Ebert Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert, the Pulitzer Prize-
winning critic for the Chicago Sun-
Times as well as the film critic, died
at the age of 70 years on 4 April 2013
at Rehabilitation Institute of
Chicago. Roger Ebert remained the
film critic for Chicago Sun-Times for
45 long years and was also given the
title of most powerful critic in
America by the Forbes in 2007.
Dr Hilary Koprowski Dr Hilary Koprowski Dr Hilary Koprowski Dr Hilary Koprowski Dr Hilary Koprowski
Dr Hilary Koprowski, a Polish
researcher who developed the first
successful oral vaccination for polio
died on 11 April 2013 in
Philadelphia. He was 96 years of age.
About Dr Hilary Koprowski About Dr Hilary Koprowski About Dr Hilary Koprowski About Dr Hilary Koprowski About Dr Hilary Koprowski
He was a Polish virologist and
immunologist and was known
for developing the first
effective polio vaccine.
Hilary Koprowski remained
the President of
Biotechnology Foundation
Laboratories, Inc. as well as
the Head of the Center for
Neurovirology at Thomas
Jefferson University.
In 2006, he was conferred with
the record 50th grant from the
National Institutes of Health.
He also served as the
consultant to the World Health
Organization and also Pan
American Health
Organization.
He received Philadelphia
Cancer Research Award and
the John Scott Award in
Philadelphia.
In 1959, he was conferred with
the Alvarenga Prize by the
College of Physicians of
Philadelphia.
In 1995, Hilary Koprowski was
given the title of Commander
of the Order of the Lion of
Finland by the
Binod Bihari Chowdhury Binod Bihari Chowdhury Binod Bihari Chowdhury Binod Bihari Chowdhury Binod Bihari Chowdhury
Binod Bihari Chowdhury, 104,
the anti-British revolutionary and a
close associate of great Bengal
revolutionary Masterda, Surya Sen
died on 11 April 2013 in a hospital,
at Kolkata. He was born in
Chittagong on 10 January 1911 and
died while being treated. Binod
Bihari Chowdhury was a part of the
Masterdas Jugantor a pre-
independence revolutionary group
that influenced the Chittagong
Armoury raid by taking part into it.
The group is known for announcing
a revolutionary government after
making a raid over the armoury of
the Police as well as Auxiliary forces
of British Government on 18 April
1930.
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Professor Bratindra Nath Professor Bratindra Nath Professor Bratindra Nath Professor Bratindra Nath Professor Bratindra Nath
Mukherjee Mukherjee Mukherjee Mukherjee Mukherjee
Padma Shri Awardee Professor
Bratindra Nath Mukherjee, the
renowned historian and an
epigraphy expert died at his
residence in Kolkata on 4 April 2013.
The 79 year old who deciphered
several ancient scripts, is now
survived by his wife and son.
Shakuntala Devi Shakuntala Devi Shakuntala Devi Shakuntala Devi Shakuntala Devi
Shakuntala Devi, the Indian
Mathematician also known as
mental calculator and human
computer died on 21 April 2013.She
was of 80 years. Among her
distinctions was her ability to
mentally ascertain the day, when
given a date in the last century. She
was in the hospital from 3 April 2013
over a period of two weeks, due to
respiratory problems and later she
developed kidney and heart
complications. She died due to
heart failure and renal problem.
About Shakuntala Devi About Shakuntala Devi About Shakuntala Devi About Shakuntala Devi About Shakuntala Devi
Her name was recorded in
Guinness Book of World
Records for her ability of
making calculations at
lightning-speed. One of her
major distinction was that
when given a date in the last
century, she could have
mentally ascertained the day
for it.
In the year 1977, she
calculated the 23rd root of
digit number 201 in just 50
seconds
In 1980, she successfully
multiplied the two 13-digit
numbers (7,686,369,774,870 x
2,465,099,745,779) given to
her by the computer
department of Imperial
College London. She was
successful in making this
calculation within 28 seconds
Some of her books were
Puzzles to Puzzle You,
Mathablit, Astrology for You,
Fun with Numbers and
Awaken the Genius in Your
Child.
Her father was a circus
performer, who did trapeze,
tightrope and cannonball
shows
V S Ramadevi V S Ramadevi V S Ramadevi V S Ramadevi V S Ramadevi
Former Governor of Karnataka,
V.S. Ramadevi died in Bangalore on
17 April following a massive Cardiac
Arrest. She was 79. Rama Devi also
served as the Chief Election
Commissioner of India. She is now
survived by her son V S Rakesh,
daughters V S Rekha, V S Radhika
Choudhary.
About V.S. Ramadevi About V.S. Ramadevi About V.S. Ramadevi About V.S. Ramadevi About V.S. Ramadevi
Born on 15 March 1934, she
served the Election
Commission of India as its only
women Chief Election
Commissioner from 26
November 1990 to 11
December 1990, she
succeeded R. V. S. Peri Sastri
and was succeeded by TN
Sheshan
She served as the governor of
Himachal Pradesh 26 July
1997 to 1 December 1999
She served as the governor of
Karnataka from 2 December
1999 to 20 August 2002
Karnataka government
declared a three-day state mourning
as a mark of respect to the departed
leader from 17 April to 19 April
2013. During this period, the
National flag will fly at half mast atop
all government buildings.
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala Ruth Prawer Jhabvala Ruth Prawer Jhabvala Ruth Prawer Jhabvala Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Oscar and Booker Prize winner
writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala died on
3 April 2013 in Manhattan, New York
after a long illness. She died at the
age of 85 and is survived by her
three daughters, her husband Cyrus
Jhabvala and six grandchildren.
About Ruth Prawer Jhabvala About Ruth Prawer Jhabvala About Ruth Prawer Jhabvala About Ruth Prawer Jhabvala About Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
She was a long time member
of Merchant Ivory Productions
and wrote 22 films for it over
a period of four decades
Her long association with
Merchant Ivory Productions
won her two Academy
Awards (Oscars) for her work
on the films A Room with a
View and Howards End, an
adaptation of the E.M. Forster
novels.
She won her booker in 1975
for her fiction Heat and Dust
She wrote 19 novels and short
stories during her carrier span
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of more than five decades
She lived in India for a period
of about two-decades
Her last story was published in
the New Yorker Magazine in its
March 2013 issue with the title The
Judges Will.
Mike Denness Mike Denness Mike Denness Mike Denness Mike Denness
Michael Henry Denness,
popularly known as Mike Denness,
the former England captain died on
19 April 2013 in London because of
cancer. He was 72 years of age.
About Mike Denness About Mike Denness About Mike Denness About Mike Denness About Mike Denness
Mike Denness was an only
Scotsman who was the
captain of England cricket
team. He led the England team
in 19 tests out of 28 between
1969 and 1975.

He played 12 one-day
internationals (ODIs) and later
became the ICC match
referee.
As the ICC match referee, he
sanctioned six Indian players
during 2001-2002 in Port
Elizabeth. This caused Indian
and South African boards
putting Mike Denness on ban
from officiating next match.
ICC withdrew the Test status
from the game.
Mike Denness played county
cricket for Essex and Kent. He
scored over 25000 runs in the
first-class career.
Salam Fayyad Salam Fayyad Salam Fayyad Salam Fayyad Salam Fayyad
Palestinian Prime Minister
Salam Fayyad resigned on 13 April
2013 after falling out with president
Mahmud Abbas. Salam Fayyad was
tasked with the role of caretaker for
the current government until a new
prime minister is appointed. Fayyad
held the finance portfolio as well as
the premiership before Qassiss
appointment in May 2012. His
economic policies were being
crticised by Abbass ruling Fatah
movement. The world community
gives credit to Fayyad with building
a sound institutional framework for
the Palestinian Authority ruling over
West Bank area. His resignation
could hinder implementation of an
agreement with Israel.
Ahmed Moaz Al-Khatib Ahmed Moaz Al-Khatib Ahmed Moaz Al-Khatib Ahmed Moaz Al-Khatib Ahmed Moaz Al-Khatib
The opposition Coalition
President of Syria, Ahmed Moaz al-
Khatib announced his resignation
from Syrian National Coalition
(SNC), the opposition of Syria, on
24 March 2013. Ahmed Moaz al-
Khatib declared that he was
resigning so that he could work with
more freedom which was devoid to
him in the official institution. His
statement followed an invitation by
the Arab League to opposition
coalition for attending the summit
in Qatar on 26 March 2013.
It is important to note that his
resignation could raise opposition
division concerns. Ahmed Moaz al-
Khatib is said to be the former imam
of Omayyed mosque as well as
moderate Islamist. He rose to be the
respected political figure of Syria.
He was elected to the post of
Opposition leader in Doha in
November 2012.
Giulio Terzi Giulio Terzi Giulio Terzi Giulio Terzi Giulio Terzi
Italian Foreign Minister Giulio
Terzi resigned on 26 March 2013 in
the wake of a dispute with India over
the 2012 killing of two Indian
fishermen by two marines while
there are on anti-piracy duty. Italy
has agreed to send two Italian
marines accused of the crime to
India to face trial, after initially
refusing to return them. The marines,
Salvatore Girone and Massimiliano
Latorre, are facing trial in India over
the shooting dead of two fishermen
off the southern state of Kerala in
February 2012 when they were
deputed to protect an Italian
commercial tanker from pirates. The
dispute began after Italy allowed the
two suspects to return to Italy in
February 2013 to vote in national
elections. Romes initial refusal to
send them back angered Indian
government officials and Supreme
Court justices, who noted that the
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Italian ambassador had given
assurances to the court that the
marines would come back to India
after the elections. On 11 March
2013 the outgoing technocrat
government of Mario Monti in Italy
said it would not send the marines
back because Indian courts did not
have jurisdiction over the incident,
which as per the Rome occurred in
international waters.
Mirza Himayat Baig Mirza Himayat Baig Mirza Himayat Baig Mirza Himayat Baig Mirza Himayat Baig
Mirza Himayat Baig, the lone
convict in the Pune German Bakery
blast case, was on 18 April 2013
sentenced to death by a Pune
Sessions Court. Additional Sessions
Judge N P Dhote handed down the
capital punishment to Baig for
murder and criminal conspiracy,
besides under provisions of
Unlawful Activities Prevention Act
and Explosive Substances Act.
The court had accepted the
prosecutions contention that it was
a carefully planned attack to
terrorise the public in general by
causing extensive damage to life and
property. All the accused have links
to Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba
or home-grown terror outfit Indian
Mujahideen. German Bakery located
in posh Koregoan Park area was a
popular food joint of youngsters in
the city. Maharashtra Anti Terrorism
Squad investigated this gruesome
attack. They arrested Himayat Baig
and sized explosives from his
residence.
They also indentified other
accused which includes Mohsin
Choudhary, Yasin Bhatkal, Riyaz
Bhatkal, Iqbal Bhatkal and Faiyaz
Kagzi.
However all other accused are
absconding. Baig is the only
accused in this case who has been
arrested, tried and convicted for the
terror attack. The blast had left 17
people dead, including five
foreigners, and 64 wounded at the
popular eatery on 13 February 2010.
Religion, Law & Society-Across Religion, Law & Society-Across Religion, Law & Society-Across Religion, Law & Society-Across Religion, Law & Society-Across
the Globe the Globe the Globe the Globe the Globe
The Vice President of India,
Hamid Ansari on 12 April 2013
released a book titled Religion, Law
& Society Across the Globe. The
book is authored by Prof. Tahir
Mahmood. The book contains
descriptions of foreign and Indian
Conference addresses and
commissioned papers, a section on
Minority Rights in Indian as well as
Global Context and more. The book
also offers insights into a variety of
intricate and inter-connected issues
of constitutional and socio-legal
significance.
The Orphan Masters Son The Orphan Masters Son The Orphan Masters Son The Orphan Masters Son The Orphan Masters Son
Adam Johnsons novel The
Orphan Masters son won the
Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2013. Last
year, judges had failed to select a
winner of the award for fiction for
the first time in 35 years. The book
carries the reader on an
adventuresome journey into the
depths of totalitarian North Korea
and into the most intimate spaces
of the human heart. Johnson teaches
creative writing at Stanford
University.
He spent time in North Korea
to research his book. Other books
in contention were, What We Talk
About When We Talk About Anne
Frank, by Nathan Englander and The
Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey.
Leadership Leadership Leadership Leadership Leadership
Training Programme II Training Programme II Training Programme II Training Programme II Training Programme II
The Union Minister of Culture
Chandresh Kumari Katoch
inaugurated Leadership Training
Programme II for Indian museum
professionals on 10 April 2013. The
Leadership Training Programme II
for Indian museum professionals
was inaugurated in the presence of
Neil MacGregor, Director British
Museum, London as well as Sangita
Gairola, Secretary Culture. The
syllabus for the Leadership Training
Programme was developed by the
British Museum and the National
Culture Fund. The Leadership
Training programme (LTP) - II which
has specially been created for the
Indian museum professionals by the
British Museum comprises of 3
modules of 2 weeks each spread
over a period of 5 months. First
module was held in New Delhi and
second and the third modules
would be held in London and
Allahabad respectively. In between
the Taught Modules, participants
will be given Museums assignments
to complete in their own museums.
The syllabus was carefully designed
after keeping in mind the Indian
scenario. The Leadership Training
Programme aims at developing
leadership and executing skills for
museum personnel.
Tagore Centre for Global Thought Tagore Centre for Global Thought Tagore Centre for Global Thought Tagore Centre for Global Thought Tagore Centre for Global Thought
at London at London at London at London at London
Union Ministry of Culture,
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Government of India inaugurated
the Tagore Centre for Global
Thought at India Institute, Kings
College, London on 2nd April, 2013.
Tagore Centre was set up as part of
the Tagore Commemoration
celebrating 150th Birth Anniversary
of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.
The Tagore Centre will enhance
Tagore-related, academic
intellectual and philosophic work
globally. The underlying concept is
to promote the study of liberal arts
and support programmes
connected with all aspects of
Tagores works and showcase how
the Indian thought and intellectual
capability was influenced by
Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. The
Tagore Centre has been established
in partnership with the India
Institute of Kings College, London
by signing an agreement. The Centre
will take up five core activities
promoting global implications and
connections of Indian thought
besides promoting Tagores literary
and cultural legacy. The Centre is
also expected to promote research
in Tagores literature and artistic
works in all the areas of music, art
and films. Besides promoting
Tagores philosophy it is also
expected to promote and support
research students working on the
Global Intellectual history of Indian
Thought. The activities will include
Tagore distinguished lectures in
Global Thought, Lecture series on
Tagore, Doctoral Scholarships and
film series based on Tagore Stories
and writings. To facilitate the
Tagore Centre, Ministry of Culture
has designed a lean but strong
administrative architecture
comprising the New Delhi - based
Steering Committee headed by the
Union Culture Secretary and the
London - based Implementation and
Monitoring Committee. The latter
has been empowered to take
decisions regarding the Centre and
its programmes. Over 100000 euros
out of a total of over 300000 euros
committed for 3 years has already
been released. The Tagore Centre is
expected to become a vibrant
Centre of excellence and an
intellectual hub in the field of art and
culture. It will not only promote and
support research studies on
Tagores thought and work in art,
music, education and traditional
literature but also studies in Indian
Philosophy and cultural tradition, for
which India is known worldwide.
Nuclear-Capable Hatf-IV Ballistic Nuclear-Capable Hatf-IV Ballistic Nuclear-Capable Hatf-IV Ballistic Nuclear-Capable Hatf-IV Ballistic Nuclear-Capable Hatf-IV Ballistic
Missile Missile Missile Missile Missile
Pakistan successfully test-fired
the nuclear-capable Hatf-IV ballistic
missile on 10 April 2013. The missile
has a range of 900 km and it can also
hit targets in India.
Main features related to Hatf- Main features related to Hatf- Main features related to Hatf- Main features related to Hatf- Main features related to Hatf-
IV ballistic missile: IV ballistic missile: IV ballistic missile: IV ballistic missile: IV ballistic missile:
Hatf- IV ballistic missile is also
called Shaheen-1.
The missile incorporated
various improvements in the
technical parameters as well
as range of the existing
missile.
Hatf-IV has the capability of
carrying the conventional and
nuclear warheads upto 900 km
range.
Impact point of launch of Hatf-
IV was at the sea.
Strategic Plans Division chief
Lt Gen (retired) Khalid Ahmed
Kidwai witnessed the launch
of Hatf-IV missile.
Since 2012, Pakistan has
successfully test-fired various
missiles including Hatf-IX
tactical missile that has a range
of 60 km, along with Hatf-V
ballistic missile that has 1300
km reach.
Narangwal, Ludhiana Narangwal, Ludhiana Narangwal, Ludhiana Narangwal, Ludhiana Narangwal, Ludhiana
The Minister of Information &
Broadcasting, Manish Tiwari on 6
April 2013 inaugurated an Indoor
Shooting Range in Govind National
College, Narangwal in District
Ludhiana. The Indoor Shooting
Range was built with the grant of 50
lakh Rupees from University Grants
Commission. The Indoor Shooting
Range was inaugurated on the
occasion of convocation of Govind
National College. During the
convocation, Manish Tiwari
awarded degrees to 260 students.
Apart from the degrees, stipends
and scholarships were also
awarded. Grant of 5 lakh Rupees for
development of college was also
announced by Manish Tiwari.
H-191 H-191 H-191 H-191 H-191
Director General Indian Coast
Guard Vice Admiral Anurag G
Thapliyal was commissioned at
Mumbai on 10 April 2013 by the
Director General Indian Coast Guard
Vice Admiral Anurag G Thapliyal.
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This is the fifth of the series of twelve
Air Cushion Vehicles (ACVs) to be
commissioned so far. This ship will
be based in Okha under the
Administrative and Operational
Control of the Commander Coast
Guard Region (North-West).
Indian Coast Guard Ship H-191 Indian Coast Guard Ship H-191 Indian Coast Guard Ship H-191 Indian Coast Guard Ship H-191 Indian Coast Guard Ship H-191
It is a 21 meter long Air
Cushion Vehicle with 31
tonnes displacement
It can achieve maximum
speed of 45 knots
It is capable of undertaking
multi-farious tasks such as
surveillance, interdiction,
search and rescue and
rendering assistance to small
boats/craft in distress at sea
Science Express Biodiversity Science Express Biodiversity Science Express Biodiversity Science Express Biodiversity Science Express Biodiversity
Special (SEBS) Train Special (SEBS) Train Special (SEBS) Train Special (SEBS) Train Special (SEBS) Train
The Ministry of Environment &
Forests decided to re-launch SEBS
(Science Express Biodiversity
Special) train in the 2nd phase of the
programme on 9 April 2013 from
Delhi Safdarjung. The present run of
the train is the 2nd Phase in the two
phase programme envisaged to
cover a minimum of 100 locations
on Broad Gauge network of Indian
Railway across the entire length &
breadth of the country. Of the 16
coaches of Science Express-
Biodiversity Special, 8 are solely
dedicated to showcasing the myriad
biodiversity spread across all the
bio-geographical zones of India
through a variety of interactive
exhibits, short films & videos that are
shown on Plasma & LED TV screens,
large format displays, kiosks, backlit
panels, and so on. The rest of
coaches have interesting &
informative exhibits on Climate
Change, Energy and Water
conservation and topical issues in
science.
The popular Joy of Science Lab
is mounted in an exclusive coach in
which students are guided to
perform various experiments &
activities to understand concepts of
various themes projected in the
train. In addition, on the railway
platform where the train is halted,
young visitors are encouraged to
play several exciting games as well
as participate in quizzes, painting
competitions, elocutions, just-a-
minute, etc. The window panes of
the entire train have also been
judiciously used to put up posters
on the numerous species of flora &
fauna found in India which keep the
visitors engaged while waiting for
their turn. SEBS was launched on 5
June 2012 (World Environment Day)
with a view to create awareness
amongst masses in general and
youth in particular about the
exceptional biodiversity of India.
Sulabh International Museum of Sulabh International Museum of Sulabh International Museum of Sulabh International Museum of Sulabh International Museum of
Toilets Toilets Toilets Toilets Toilets

The Sulabh International
Museum of Toilets in the Palam area
of Delhi entered the list of top 10
Weird and Unusual museums of the
world. The list is compiled by a
travel portal, Journeymart.com and
it also includes the Salems Witch
Museum and Washington DCs
International Spy Museum.
About the Sulabh About the Sulabh About the Sulabh About the Sulabh About the Sulabh
International Museum of Toilets International Museum of Toilets International Museum of Toilets International Museum of Toilets International Museum of Toilets
Sulabh International Museum
of Toilets was inaugurated in 1992.
It has the collection of various toilet
seats from different eras. The major
highlight of this museum is facsimile
of the King Louis the XIVs throne. It
is believed that the King used it to
defecate when he used to conduct
the court sessions.
Journeymart.com explained that
there are other nine unique
museums from all over the world.
The list has been compiled by
travelling across the museums of the
world from past 13 years. Every
museum on the list is very unique
and different from one
other. Ironically, while the Sulabh
International Museum of Toilets is
housed in Delhi, it is also the state
where ratio of one person to the
toilet is extremely low.
Other museums on the list of Other museums on the list of Other museums on the list of Other museums on the list of Other museums on the list of
Top 10 Weird and Unusual Top 10 Weird and Unusual Top 10 Weird and Unusual Top 10 Weird and Unusual Top 10 Weird and Unusual
museums of the world are: museums of the world are: museums of the world are: museums of the world are: museums of the world are:
The International Spy
Museum, Washington DC
Celebrity Hair Museum,
Missouri
The Witch Museum, Salem
The Chocolate Museum,
Cologne, Germany
Celebrity Lingerie Hall of
Fame, Los Angeles
Abu Jundal Abu Jundal Abu Jundal Abu Jundal Abu Jundal
National Investigation Agency
(NIA) on 4 April 2013 charge sheet
against Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias
Abu Jundal, the suspected terrorist
of the banned Lashker-e-taiba (Let)
and the mastermind of Mumbai
Terror Attacks in the designated
court in Patiala house in New Delhi.
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Abu Jundal is accused of making
recruitments for Pakistan for LeT, the
Pakistan based terror outfit.
Jundal made many deliberated
efforts to recruit people through
internet to join LeT for the cause of
carrying out terror activities in India,
in 2011 and 2012. The NIA has
alleged that Jundal, during 2011 and
2012, had made deliberate attempts
for recruiting different persons
through internet for joining LeT and
carrying out terror activities in India.
Pablo Neruda Pablo Neruda Pablo Neruda Pablo Neruda Pablo Neruda
A team of forensic specialists
in Chile on 8 April 2013 began work
of exhuming poet Pablo Nerudas
body to find out whether he was
murdered or died of prostate
cancer. Nobel prize-winning poet
Pablo Neruda died just 12 days after
military coup of 1973. The 1973
military coup had ousted Chiles
socialist president Salvador Allende,
thus bringing General Augusto
Pinochet in power. It was believed
that Pablo Neruda died because of
prostate cancer but in 2011, the
possibility of poisoning of the poet
by agents of Pinochet regime also
came in limelight. He died on 23
September 1973 in Santiago. The
remains of Pablo Neruda were in a
tomb at his home in Isla Negra. The
poet had won the 1971 Nobel Prize
in Literature. He was renowned for
his love poems. Apart from being
the poet, he was also a Communist
Party politician. The Chilean justice
system ordered probe in June 2011
after filing of complaint by the
Chilean Communist Party.
INTRA-IPS INTRA-IPS INTRA-IPS INTRA-IPS INTRA-IPS
The official online portal
of INTRA-IPS INTRA-IPS INTRA-IPS INTRA-IPS INTRA-IPS was launched by S.
Jayaraman (Special Secretary-
Internal Security), Ministry of Home
Affairs at New Delhi on 8 April 2013.
The address of the INTRA-IPS online
portal is http://intraips.gov.in.
Features of this new online Features of this new online Features of this new online Features of this new online Features of this new online
portal are as follows: portal are as follows: portal are as follows: portal are as follows: portal are as follows:
The online portal will facilitate
information about the Indian Police
Service Civil List, Immovable
Property Returns, Latest
notifications/circulars, Rules, Police
Medal Awardees list etc. related to
all IPS officers all over India. The
Ministry of Home Affairs will issue
new e-mail addresses to All Indian
Police Service (IPS) officers.
Knowledge Management System
(KMS) will also be a part of the
online portal. In this KMS, the IPS
officers will be facilitated to upload
as well as share the knowledge
resources, which according to them
are fruitful for the IPS community.
Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh
Prime Minister of India,
Manmohan Singh visited Germany
from 10 April 2013 to 12 April 2013.
He visited for participating in
second round of Inter Governmental
Consultations with Germany. He
was accompanied by delegation
including Ministers and senior
officials.
During his visit, certain
documents were signed. The
documents were signed during the
official visit of Prime Minister to
Germany for the 2nd India-Germany
Intergovernmental Consultations.
Also, the documents were signed on
the sidelines of 2nd round of India-
Germany Intergovernmental
Consultations.
Bushehr Bushehr Bushehr Bushehr Bushehr
An earthquake of magnitude
6.3 killed 37 leaving behind 850
people injured in Bushehr Province
of south-west Iran on 9 April 2013
at 4:22 pm (local time). The quake
struck 90 kilometers away from the
countrys only 1000 Megawatt
Bushehr Nuclear Plant but was not
able to have an impact on the plant.
Seismologists measured that the
quake struck at a depth of 10
kilometers near the town of Kaki a
Gulf Port City. Several aftershocks
of intensity more than five on the
Ritcher Scale were felt. The effects
of the quake were felt across Gulf
in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, UAE and
Bahrain. A total of about 700 houses
were damaged and more than 200
families felt the effect of the quake.
Rescue operations are being
conducted by the rescue team sent
in the affected area. Iran lies in an
area of major geological fault-line
and thus is prone to seismic activity.
A major earthquake in the City of
Bam that stuck Iran on 26 December
2003 left 25000 people dead.
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Lt Cdr Tomy Lt Cdr Tomy Lt Cdr Tomy Lt Cdr Tomy Lt Cdr Tomy
President of India, Pranab
Mukherjee welcomed Lt Cdr
Abhilash Tomy of Indian Navy, who
on 6 April 2013 became the first
Indian to circumnavigate the globe,
solo and non-stop, in a sail boat over
a 150-day voyage. This voyage of Lt
Cdr Tony placed India in the list of
few selected nations, whose
citizens were successful in
completion of such an arduous
voyage. The voyage of Lt Cdr
Abhilash Tomy ended at the
Gateway of India. He started his
voyage across the oceans of the
world from the same place from in
his boat INSV Mhadei on 1
November 2012. The Voyage was
conducted under the Sagar
Parikrama Project, which was
sanctioned by Pranab Mukherjee,
when he was the Defence Minister
of India. With this achievement Tony
turned up to be the first Indian and
second Asian to complete such a
Australia, Cape Horn in South
America and Cape of Good
Hope in Africa.
INSV Mhadei is a custom-built
boat of Indian Navy that was
designed in the year 2009 and in a
period of four years, the boat
undertook its second solo
circumnavigation trip.
Sichuan Sichuan Sichuan Sichuan Sichuan
Earthquake that measured 7 on
Ritcher Scale killed more than 167
and injured at least 5000 people in
Chinas western Sichuan Province
on 20 April 2013. The earthquake
struck at 8.02 am from Chinese local
time. The incident occurred at a
distance of less than 100 miles from
Chengdu, the Provincial Capital of
the region. Seismologists
measured that the epicenter of the
quake was at a depth of 12
Kilometers below the surface in
Yaan City, which is a home to about
1.5 million people. The earthquake
left behind a devastating look in
form of destroyed and broken
houses. More than 700 aftershocks
followed the devastating
earthquake.
voyage. At present there are less
than 80 people across the world in
the list of people who have
completed such a voyage.
The Voyage The Voyage The Voyage The Voyage The Voyage
Lt Cdr Abhilash Tomy during
the voyage crossed three
capes of the world namely
Cape Leeuwin, Cape Horn and
Cape of Good Hope.
During the voyage, total
distance covered is around
23100 nautical miles and
crossed Indian, Southern,
Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
During the journey from West
to East, Tony crossed south of
the continents of Australia,
South America and Africa,
thus rounding the three Great
Capes Cape Leeuwin in
MCQ Series
Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
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Crime and Punishment
The appeal from some quarters
for clemency for Bollywood actor
Sanj ay Dutt, who has been
sentenced to a five-year prison term
by the Supreme Court for
possessing an AK-56 assault rifle
two decades ago, lacks moral force.
It singles out an individual for
favourable treatment solely on the
basis of his popularity. If accepted,
the demand would entrench the
belief that the country has two
parallel systems of justice one for
the privileged and another for the
rest. The irony is that the Court itself
chose wisely to avoid any hint of
softness by refusing to countenance
supervised probati on as an
alternative to imprisonment.
The appeal i ndicates a
selective realisation that punishment
involves deprivation of liberty and
agonising court appearances
something that tens of thousands of
suspects go through. The case did
go on for 20 long years but surely
this is not unique, as many cases take
as l ong or even l onger. And
accessing it later are high. That is
why punishing mere possession is
necessary to curb the use of such
weapons.
The appeals being made on
behalf of Dutt unmask an innate
tendency among the Indian upper
classes to identify a worthy cause
only in the plight of the privileged.
That he has already suffered
imprisonment for 18 months and
that he is married and has children
are conditions common to a large
section of Indian convicts. Invoking
his respectable parentage or his
screen depiction of a kitschy version
of Gandhian protest as reasons for
pardon is amusing. While these are
circumstances that the Governor, or
the President, may consider when a
mercy petition comes up, it is
passing strange that public figures
should be quicker in pointing them
out than the one convicted. As
Shakespeare says in Measure for
Measure , Lawful mercy is nothing
kin to foul redemption.
Courtesy-The Hindu
i nstances of the apex court
enhancing jail terms years after the
trial is over or setting aside old
acqui ttal s are l egi on. It i s
unfortunate that the appeal should
have found immediate resonance in
both the Union and the Maharashtra
governments, which have spoken
about considering it.
A questi on has al so been
raised about the proportionality of
a five-year jail term for merely
possessing a weapon that was not
used, and was unrelated to
terrori sm. There is sound
jurisprudential basis for treating
possession of an assault weapon as
an offence seri ous enough to
warrant a minimum prison term of
five years. The Kalashnikov came
through underworld gangs and was
l inked to the consi gnment of
explosives used to perpetrate the
Mumbai serial blasts, though Dutt
may not have known that. The very
fact that a deadly assault weapon
lies unaccounted for in private
hands puts society at risk because
the chances of criminal elements
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Building it brick by Brick
When they come together at
Durban, the South African city that
has hosted mega conferences of
hundreds of countries in the past,
the small but significant group of
five leaders from Brazil, Russia,
India, China, and the host country
will be completing their first round
of summit meetings. South Africa,
itself a late entrant into BRICS in
2011, is conscious of what the event
means to it, a demonstration to its
own people and also to the rest of
Africa about it belonging to a select
transcontinental group: new, rich in
promise and potential, and worthy
of attention.
True to its political tradition of
solidarity with the rest of Africa,
South Africa as the host is also
leveraging the event for a focus on
all of the continent. Predictably the
theme of the summit chosen by the
host i s BRICS and Afri ca
partnership for devel opment,
integration and industrialisation.
The African Union is being invited
as a guest. Interesti ngl y, the
President of Egypt is also expected.
Diplomatic perspective
Apart from the symbolism and
the ceremony, after five years of
evolution, how does one see BRICS
as a grouping? What does it bring to
the countries that are members?
What does it convey to the countries
that are outside it, to the G-8, the
original rich mans club, to other
groupings? Here is a diplomatic
practitioners perspective based on
some experience of summi ts
hitherto.
It is by now well recognised
that some factors underlying the
creation a decade ago of a clever
acronym BRIC (without South Africa
at that stage) have changed. The
BRIC brand was the invention of an
investment and marketing guru Jim
O Neill of Goldman Sachs. At a
peri od of fi nanci al crisi s and
economic collapse in the affluent
West, he was looking to identify
countries with high growth, rising
demand in markets, and attractive
yield for investments. In the buoyant
period of over 8-9 per cent growth
in China and India and more modest
but still robust growth in Brazil and
Russia, the logo of BRIC as an
i nvestment desti nati on was
attractive. Today, seen from this
sol el y macro-economi c
perspective, the reality is different.
There are questi ons about the
growth trajectories in India and
Brazil to name only two; pointers to
others that are growing faster such
as Mexico, Turkey or Indonesia, and
l arger uncertainties about the
economic scenario. BRICS sceptics,
not confined to the West, but also
in our countries thus ask legitimate
questions about the salience of the
grouping.
But to focus only on the micro
or even macro economic issues is
to miss the point that BRICS has
moved beyond that bandwidth.
With it adopting the character of a
forum with leaders meeting at the
summi t and others foreign,
finance and trade ministers, national
security advisers, apex business
organisations, academics, bankers
on the sidelines, it is acquiring
an identity as a different kind of mini
multilateral platform. What is its
evolving identity, then?
Some features are easy to see.
BRICS countries are all large, though
largeness in size or population is a
relative attribute. But together they
constitute 40 per cent of the worlds
population, 25 per cent of its land
size and over 25 per cent of the
gl obal GDP and thus by any
standards have collective weight.
Secondly, though Mexico, South
Korea, and Turkey have also shown
remarkabl e growth, they are
members or aligned to the rich
mans club of OECD and have
identity and interests with the
developed world. Broadly speaking,
BRICS countries regard themselves
as developing (Russia being an
exception) and it is still a fact that
the perspectives of the two groups
are different on many international
i ssues. (The G-20, another
mechanism, is a framework that
brings together both).
Third, the BRICS countries are
conscious although they may not
proclaim it that the convergence
i n their pol i tical and securi ty
interests is limited, and hence are
not likely to spend too much time
on these issues. Two countries are
already permanent members of the
Security Council (China and Russia),
and India and Brazil are aspirants;
two are acknowledged nuclear
powers and India is a claimant, and
there are other divergences on
strategic issues. All leaders are
sensitive to these differences and
the summits take place despite
these di vergences, and not to
resolve them. Notwithstanding, with
regard to some international issues,
there can be commonal i ty of
approaches and hence the
expectation that they may look at
Syria, Iran or the Palestinian issue in
a nuanced way. BRICS leaders are
also careful not to see or, in any way,
project their forum as adversarial to
the U.S. or the West. That simplistic
and headline grabbing approach is
only that of lazy commentators, both
in the West and in our own.
Within the establishments of
BRICS countries, it is recognised that
BRICS is essenti all y a work in
progress. The expectations are
modest and pragmatic. It will be fair
to say that the one-to-one meetings
between the partners, all of who are
important, are a value in itself during
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the summits. BRICS does create an
opportunity, for example, for our
Prime Minister to meet for the first
time, the new Chinese leader, Xi
Jinping, in an intimate setting.
Beyond this collateral advantage,
BRICS may also help share thinking
on medium term global governance
issues. Current examples are the
reform of the IMF and the World
Bank, a greater say for countries with
our capacities in such institutions,
state of WTO or climate change
negotiations and such agendas.
There may not be complete identity
of views on these issues, but given
thei r profil es and resource
endowments, a certain empathy
among them is to be expected.
Substantive specifics
Looking at the forthcoming
summit in Durban, some substantive
speci fics may be noted.
Engagement with Africa is important
individually for India, China and
Brazil though their priority regions
and models for cooperation have
been different. It will be interesting
to see the competitive and the
cooperative dimensions come into
pl ay when they look at Afri ca
collectively. The idea of a BRICS
bank, first discussed in Delhi, is
being examined at technical levels,
but i t may recei ve further
encouragement. A notabl e
achievement already is the BRICS
network of research institutions to
pool together the intell ectual
capital, easier to design than the
pooling of financial capital.
Finally, for South Africa, Brazil
and Indi a, there is also the
interesting question of how to shape
another forum of their own, IBSA,
which brings together the three
large and vibrant democracies from
the three continents of Africa, Latin
America and Asia. BRICS and IBSA
have overlapping but di stinct
memberships and identities and the
three countries need to think of what
they can do together that is different
from BRICS. This is also an issue that
India will have to address as it will
host the IBSA process later in the
year.
Courtesy-The Hindu
New chapter, old challenges
Presi dent Xi Ji npi ng i s
expected to hold his first meeting
as Chinas new leader with Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh this week,
along the sidelines of the March 26
BRICS Summit in South Africa. The
talks they are expected to be a
brief event according to officials in
Beijing, who cited the limitations of
Mr. Xis tight schedule will mark
Indias first major engagement with
the new Chinese leadership, which
took over following the conclusion
of the National Peoples Congress,
or Parliament, on March 17. Chinas
new leaders have, as yet, given little
indication of how they plan to take
ties with India forward. Mr. Xi, in his
first interview after taking over as
President, outlined a five-point
proposal to improve relations with
India, when he met with a group of
journalists from the BRICS countries
(Brazil, Russia, India, China and
South Africa) in Beijing on March 19.
Mr. Xis proposal had little in
the way of specifics, and did not
offer new ideas. The five proposals
called for: maintaining strategic
communication and keeping ties on
the ri ght track; expandi ng
cooperation in infrastructure and
mutual investment; strengthening
cultural ties; increasing coordination
on multi l ateral affai rs; and
accommodating each others core
concerns to properl y handle
differences.
If anything can be gleaned
from Mr. Xis remarks, it is that the
new leadership is yet to devote its
full attention to ties with India. The
five points Mr. Xi listed were, in
fact, almost entirely similar to the
five-pronged proposal made by his
predecessor, Hu Jintao, during a
visit to India one year ago, for the
BRICS Summit in New Delhi. Since
taking over as the Communist Party
of Chinas (CPC) General Secretary
in November last year, it is clear that
Mr. Xi, and the top leadership, have
been preoccupied wi th the
transition at home. On the foreign
policy front as well, India does not
figure high on the list of Beijings
current priorities.
Continuity
Chinas present focus is largely
on the United States particularly,
its pivot or rebalancing towards
Asia and Japan, following recent
tensions over the disputed Diaoyu
or Senkaku islands in the East China
Sea. Analysts in Beijing see the
annual press conference given by
the Chinese Foreign Minister as a
somewhat inexact indicator of
Chi nas current forei gn pol icy
priorities. The briefing given by
outgoing Foreign Minister Yang
Jiechi in Beijing on March 9, a
carefully choreographed affair in
which the questions were arranged
weeks in advance, focused primarily
on Chinas relations with the U.S.,
Japan and Russia, the destination of
Mr. Xis first overseas State visit.
Other areas that found specific
mention were the tensions on the
Korean peninsula, ties with Africa,
the Syrian crisis and relations with
Asean.
Chinese foreign policy analysts
acknowledge that India may not be
high on the list of Chinas present
diplomatic priorities. This, they
suggest, is not entirely a bad thing,
and is more a reflection of the
increasingly stable nature of the
relationship rather than a lack of
interest. Chinese officials point out
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that only three years ago, ties were
persistently tested with recurring
differences over the boundary
dispute and Tibet. In 2009, for
instance, regular reports in India
described aggressive patrolling and
incursi ons by the Peopl es
Liberation Army (PLA) in border
areas, while in China, anger over
exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the
Dalai Lamas visit to Tawang cast a
shadow on ties. Four years on, both
i ssues have appeared to have
become less of an irritant, and
relations are certainly more stable.
As Hu Shisheng, a leading South
Asia strategic analyst at the China
Insti tutes for Contemporary
International Relations in Beijing
puts it, India-China relations are not
[in a state of] disturbance, even if
they are secondary to other more
pressing concerns.
As a key partner
The CPCs official newspaper,
the Peopl es Dail y , recentl y
suggested there are two areas where
China now sees its main interests
wi th Indi a. A recent edi tori al
pointed to the border issue being
controlled effectively and an
increasing focus on trade and
multilateral issues as heralding a
new chapter in ties. The newspaper
argued that a new focus on trade
frictions was, in fact, a welcome sign
that a rel ati onship hi stori cal ly
burdened by strategic mistrust was
now becoming more normal.
For Chinese companies, India
has certai nl y emerged as an
increasingly important destination
for i nvestment and project
contracts, particularly in the power
and telecom sectors. According to
the Indian Embassy in Beijing,
Chinese companies are executing
$55 billion worth of projects in India
more than in any other country.
China also sees India as an important
partner on multilateral issues like
trade and climate change. Coming
under increasing pressure from the
West to take on more responsibility
as the second largest economy and
single biggest emitter of greenhouse
gases, China stands to gain by
aligning itself with other developing
countries. Mr. Xi suggested as much
i n hi s proposal: his thi rd
recommendation called on both
countries to jointly safeguard the
legitimate rights and interests of
developing countries.
Core concerns
Mr. Xi, in his proposal, also
cal l ed for both countri es to
accommodate each others core
concerns. How both countries will
do so remains to be seen: they have
recently followed an approach that
has sought to manage if not
si mpl y i gnore outstandi ng
differences on di ffi cul t core
concerns, rather than seek to engage
on those issues. For China, the
Tibetan issue ranks highest in terms
of its concerns. Indias crackdown
on Tibetan protests in April last year
during the visit of Hu Jintao to New
Delhi eased Chinese anxieties, even
as the heavy-handed approach by
the police faced criticism from both
rights groups in India and from the
exiled Tibetan community.
Chi na, for i ts part, has
appeared less willing to deal with
thorny issues such as transboundary
rivers or its continuing projects in
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Chinas recent approval for three
new dams on the Brahmaputra were
reported to have caught Indian
officials by surprise, not finding
mention in recent talks, even if the
projects are run-of-the-river dams
that might not significantly impact
downstream flows. China has also
appeared to continue wi th i ts
investments and projects in PoK,
maintaining that its involvement was
without prejudice to Indias dispute
with Pakistan. It has, however,
sought to mollify Indias concerns on
Kashmir by quietly withdrawing its
issuing of stapled visas. Dr. Singh
may not raise these contentious
issues during his brief meeting with
Mr. Xi, which is unlikely to see the
leaders engage on specifics.
Next months expected visit of
Defence Minister A.K. Antony to
China will provide a platform to
mark the real start of engagement
with Beijings new leadership, and
will shed some light on how a new
chapter in ties will begin to confront
old challenges.
Courtesy-The Hindu
Take
Tamil Nadu out of Lanka policy
Domestic politics will tell on
external affairs as much as fine
principles and strategic interests. In
the context of the draft resolution
on human rights violations in Sri
Lanka now before the United
Nations Human Rights Council in
Geneva, India will have to factor in
domesti c pol i ti cal exigenci es
alongside long-held principles and
long-term interests while firming up
its stand. Last year, India voted for a
resol uti on asking Sri Lanka to
investigate abuses by its military
during the final phase of the war
with the separatist LTTE. But it did
so after making efforts to water
down the resol uti on. Though
appearing to have been taken under
pressure from the DMK, Indias
decision to vote against Sri Lanka
l ast year was intended to tel l
President Mahinda Rajapaksa that
his fai lure to move towards a
settlement of the Tamil question
could no longer be glossed over. If
New Delhi went beyond its own
norm of not voting for country-
specific resolutions, it also hoped
this would be no more than a one-
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time exception. However, with Sri
Lanka having done precious little
since last years vote to address the
ri ghts abuses and push for
reconciliation, India cannot be
expected to dilute its stand now.
Ever since the war ended and
allegations of large-scale atrocities
began to surface, i t has been
obvious to friends of Sri Lanka that
the only way Colombo can ride the
tide of rights charges is by delivering
the political package it had itself
once promised.
Speaking on the matter in the
Raj ya Sabha on Friday, Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh steered
clear of recent allegations that the
Sri Lankan army killed LTTE supremo
Prabakarans 12-year-old son in cold
blood and instead emphasised the
need for Sri Lankan nati onal
reconciliation. This was his way of
showing the Rajapaksa government
how it must deal with the upcoming
resolution. Dr. Singhs dilemma is
unenviable. His diplomats have told
him Indias 2012 vote did not push
Colombo to do the right thing as
some had hoped.
On the other hand, Congress
ally DMK wants a further toughening
of stand. The party unwisely raised
the stakes last year by reviving the
Tami l Eel am Supporters
Organisation. TESO meetings have
so far stopped short of advocating
a separate state for Sri Lankan Tamils
but the outfits revival has itself
allowed hardliners in Sri Lanka to
argue that the grant of rights to the
Tamils is a slippery slope to their
secession. Difficult though this may
sound, New Delhi must craft a Lanka
policy that includes a case for the
i slands Tami l s free of the
opportunistic impri nt of Tamil
Nadus competitive politics. The
more its policies towards Colombo
are seen as the product of political
pressure from the State, the less
effective those policies will be.
Courtesy-The Hindu
Wake-up call for the Army
The recommendation made by
an Army court of inquiry to impose
whol esal e di sci pl inary acti on
against 168 personnel involved in
violent clashes at a training camp
should serve as an eye-opener for
the Indian armed forces. What
happened in May 2012 was a virtual
free-for-all by personnel of the
Ladakh-based 226 Field Regiment.
In fact, there have been at least four
such alarming breaches of discipline
in the Army in recent times. Such a
failure of the command and control
structure warrants a review of
training and operational aspects.
While the Army can be justifiably
proud of its apolitical, secular and
disciplined ethos, better rapport
and cohesion among different levels
seem to be a crying need. This will
require a training regime that factors
in changing values and rising career
aspirations and expectations of the
members of a modern army.
Measures to inculcate a new level
of sensitisation will need to go hand
in hand with this to remove any trust
deficit among the different classes
in the force.
There should be a premium on
morale in the forces. Significantly, a
study on the high suicide rate in the
Army by the Defence Institute of
Psychological Research held last
year that perceived humiliation and
harassment at the hands of
superiors often served as the final
trigger for jawans to take their own
lives. The demands and pressures
faced by the officers should also be
taken into account.
In the specific context of the
Ladakh incidents, the continuance
of the colonial-era institution of
thesahayak , or val et, has a
particular resonance. It was one of
these sahayaks , Sepoy Suman
Ghosh, who was thrashed by some
officers for complaining about the
behaviour of the wife of a Major at
the camp. Although the Army
announced last year that it was
considering doing away with the
system, thousands of enlisted men
continue to serve as sahayaks ,
ensuring that the creases on the
officers uniforms are sharp enough
and their epaulets shine through.
They take children to school and
help with Army wives domestic and
shopping chores. The system was
long abandoned in the British Army.
Understandably, this remains a
cause of unhappi ness for men
enlisted to serve the country. The
degree of professionalism that is
required of a modern army to meet
heightened challenges needs to be
recognised across the ranks. The
officer should lead from the front,
and the soldier should be able to
hold his or her head high. My
priority would be to strengthen
[the] Armys work culture and core
values, Lt Gen Bikram Singh said
ahead of assuming office as the
Chief of the Army Staff just a few
weeks after the Ladakh incidents. It
seems he has his task cut out for him.
Courtesy-The Hindu
Pains of a bailout
The bail out package for
Cyprus, concluded on Monday after
hectic parleys among 17 eurozone
members, may not address the
underlying malaise but aims to
provi de a repri eve to the
beleaguered country and enable its
continued parti cipation in the
monetary union. The deal scraps an
earlier, highly controversial proposal
to tax domestic deposits
i ndi scri minatel y. The Cypri ot
parl i ament had rejected that
proposal , whi ch sparked off
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universal outrage. However, large
depositors with accounts having
balances of 100,000 or more will
be taxed, and, al ong wi th
bondholders, must bear losses
whose quantum is yet to be
determined. Banks in Cyprus which
have remained shut during the crisis
will be restructured with a few
reckless ones weeded out. The most
significant outcome hoped for
would be the restoration of the
ordi nary citi zens fai th i n the
countrys financial system. Most
Cypriots have retreated into a pre-
modern economy dominated by
cash. Cyprus is expected to receive
the first instalment of the bailout,
amounting to 10 billion or $13
billion by early May. Only the finer
details of the package will support
or reject the official claim that it is
more equitable than any previous
proposal, with the heaviest losses
accruing to the largest banks. Cyprus
will still undergo pain, but it will be
of a different magnitude from the
hurt that would have been caused
by an indiscriminate tax on deposits,
or for that matter, the pain flowing
from the forced austerity packages
in Greece and Spain.
Cyprus may have a pint-sized
economy but the problems afflicting
its oversized financial sector are
grave enough to threaten not only
the eurozone but, by some
measures, the gl obal fi nanci al
system as well. This is because the
rapidly failing Cypriot financial
sector can easily set off a wider
contagion, for example by way of
bank runs, even i n the more
prosperous parts of Europe.
Globalisation has raised the level of
interconnectedness among banks to
such a level that it has become
extremely challenging for even
countries such as India to shield
themselves from an infection, no
matter where it originates. Cyprus is
not alone in letting its financial
sector grow ahead of its needs: its
banking system is some five to six
times larger than what its economy
would require. Cypruss problems
are more complex also because it
has been a tax haven, attracting large
funds from Russia and other
countri es of the former Soviet
Union. Even if Cyprus gets back on
its feet, the world should learn its
lesson from this globalised version
of Greshams law: Bad money from
a handful of wealthy tax scofflaws
can and will drive out the good
money of everyone else.
Courtesy-The Hindu
BRICS and
Mortar for Indias global role
India is at a unique geopolitical
moment. On the one hand its
neighbourhood and the larger Asian
continent are being unpredictably
redefined. The United States has
declared, if somewhat ambiguously,
its reorientation or pivot towards
Asi a, recognisi ng the regi ons
economic force moving forward, or
perhaps merel y counteri ng
enhanced Chinese power. India and
China are charting new geographies
of contests, the Indian Ocean and
South China Sea. The Arab Spring
has exposed the fundamental
inadequacies in Middle Eastern and
North African governing structures
but has also gi ven ri se to an
uncertain political future in an
important energy-producing region.
Last, but certainly not least, Chinas
growing assertiveness in the Asia-
Pacific region has led to increased,
i f someti mes seemi ngl y
unnecessary, confl ict wi th
neighbours in Southeast Asia and
Japan.
On the other hand, the world
is seeing a once-in-a-century churn.
The global board of directors that
sit on the high table and define rules
for conduct of poli ti cal and
economic governance are now
unrecognisable from the lot just
after World War II. India must seize
the moment to shape these revisions
of rules devised by the Atlantic
countries and defend its growth and
development interests in areas such
as trade, Intellectual Property Rights
(IPR), space, climate, and energy
policy, among others.
Regional order and global
governance are both in flux and
demanding Indias attention. This is
not unique by itself. What is different
this time around is that India has the
capacity, increased capabilities and
enhanced level of demonstrated
intent to engage with this dual
external relations challenge. In order
to attain the global power status it
desires, India must walk and chew
gum at the same time. It must tend
to its immediate and extended
Asian neighbourhood while also
engaging with the task of shaping a
new rules-based poli ti cal and
economic order. BRICS represents
a uniquely appropriate platform and
flexible mechanism with which
Indi a can address thi s dual
imperative.
Role for three
Engagi ng with Chi na and
Russia in an environment free of the
sharp edges often wrought i n
bilateral negotiations will catalyse
congruence over an array of
mutually important issues. Any
stable Asian order must have at its
core, a certain level of accord
among these three large continental
powers. The past would need to be
defrayed and the path for future
integration would need to sidestep
suspicion and history. Annual BRICS
summi t-l evel di scussi ons on
political and economic matters
allow the three countries such an
arena of tactical camaraderie. The
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current moment allows a unique
opportunity for the three to shape a
new construct for Asia amidst the
regional flux. Perhaps at some stage
it may be worthwhile having a
summit level RIC meeting on the
sidelines of BRICS to discuss this
Asian project.
On resetting and reshaping
economic and political governance,
BRICS has the potential to be the
new (and often criticised) game
changer. The sheer size and rate of
growth of intra-BRICS trade and
economic exchange will allow each
of these countries to exert their
collective weight for their individual
gains. Who gains more should not
matter, as long as every member
benefits from this dispensation and
the order is visibly equitable.
There are a few benefits that
India must seek through and with
the BRICS. First, there are many
multilateral organisations within
which a BRICS-bloc can exert
significant leverage. The U.N. and
World Trade Organization are two
such forums. While geopolitical and
economic thinking among BRICS is
not always in-sync, where there is
consensus (and the areas are
increasing rapidly) BRICS could be
a compelling voice. Like they did on
the debates on non-interference and
Responsibility to Protect. Similarly,
Indias views on climate change,
financial norms, trade rules and so
on could also benefit from BRICSs
aggregate voice. Of course the
UNSC membership issue strikes a
discordant note but it should not
cannibalise the possible coming
together on other matters.
Barrier against slowdown
Second, as economi c
powerhouses and regional hubs,
intra-BRICS market integration can
insulate these nations from western
economic slowdown. The
Organisation for Economic Co-
operati on and Devel opment
(OECD) stagnation is impacting
BRICS growth, wi th multi -
percentage point GDP dips in India
and China. BRICS market integration
could leverage the economic power
of emerging world economies by
sparking increased trade and foreign
investment, especially if done in
local currencies. Only China is part
of Indias top 15 trading partners,
maki ng the BRICS forum an
attractive stage from which India
can promote economic ties with
other dynamic economies. The
BRICS development bank, option of
holding each others currencies as
reserves, stronger trade facilitation
and eventually a comprehensive
BRICS economi c partnershi p
agreement are al l worthy
possibilities.
For inclusive growth
Thi rd, the BRICS are each
experiencing rapid development
wi th uni quel y nati onal
characteristics. However, despite
growing middle class populations,
BRICS hold the lions share of the
worlds impoverished population.
These nations must take increased
responsibility for a new global
development agenda, incorporating
i ncl usi ve growth, sustai nabl e
devel opment and poverty
alleviation. BRICS is a platform not
only to learn from each others
development experiences but also
the instrument that can define new
rules for health care, education and
IPR for the billions at the bottom of
the pyramid.
The col l ecti ve BRICS
experience around social policy
could be beneficially shared with
others as well. A forum (like the
OECD) or clearing-house to
disburse this information would
prove a relatively low-cost measure
producing substantial insight into
development efforts, technology
sharing, low-cost and sustainable
energy generation, information
technology and manufacturing. By
drawi ng on col l ecti ve BRICS
brainpower, local development
efforts wi ll be catal ysed. For
example, sharing Chi nas
experience on i nfrastructure
development or poverty reduction
or Brazils in clean-fuel generation
coul d be benefi ci al for Indi a
currently lacking the ability to take
full advantage of its economic
potential.
Is BRICS just a catchy acronym
masking the haphazard, slapping
together of five developing, yet
ultimately incompatible, nations?
Indi a shoul d respond with an
emphatic no. At thi s unique
moment, when Indi a faces a
multitude of challenges seeking its
attention both towards the region
and the global stage, BRICS provides
a flexible platform to respond to
both.
Courtesy-The Hindu
The past & Present of
Indian Environmentalism
On the 27th of March 1973
exactly 40 years ago a group of
peasants in a remote Himalayan
village stopped a group of loggers
from felling a patch of trees. Thus
was born the Chipko movement,
and through it the modern Indian
environmental movement itself.
The first thing to remember
about Chipko is that it was not
unique. It was representative of a
wide spectrum of natural resource
conflicts in the 1970s and 1980s
conflicts over forests, fish, and
pasture; conflicts about the siting of
large dams; conflicts about the
social and environmental impacts of
unregulated mining. In all these
cases, the pressures of urban and
i ndustri al devel opment had
deprived local communities of
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access to the resources necessary
to their own livelihood. Peasants
saw their forests being diverted by
the state for commercial
exploitation; pastorialists saw their
grazing grounds taken over by
factories and engineering colleges;
artisanal fisherfolk saw themselves
being squeezed out by l arge
trawlers.
Social Justice and Sustainability
In the West, the environmental
movement had arisen chiefly out of
a desire to protect endangered
animal species and natural habitats.
In India, however, it arose out of the
imperative of human survival. This
was an environmentalism of the
poor, which married the concern of
social justice on the one hand with
sustainability on the other. It argued
that present patterns of resource use
disadvantaged local communities
and devastated the natural
environment.
Back in the 1970s, when the
state occupied the commanding
heights of the economy, and India
was close to the Soviet Union, the
activists of Chipko and other such
movements were dismissed by their
cri ti cs as agents of Western
i mperial ism. They had, i t was
alleged, been funded and promoted
by foreigners who hoped to keep
India backward. Slowly, however,
the sheer persi stence of these
protests forced the state into making
some concessions. When Indira
Gandhi returned to power, in 1980,
a Department of Environment was
established at the Centre, becoming
a full-fledged Ministry a few years
later. New laws to control pollution
and to protect natural forests were
enacted. There was even talk of
restoring community systems of
water and forest management.
Meanwhile, journalists and
schol ars had begun more
systematically studying the impact
of environmental degradation on
soci al l i fe across Indi a. The
pioneeri ng reportage of Ani l
Agarwal, Darryl D Monte, Kalpana
Sharma, Usha Rai, Nagesh Hegde
and others played a critical role in
making the citizenry more aware of
these problems. Scientists such as
Madhav Gadgil and A.K.N. Reddy
began working out sustainable
patterns of forest and energy use.
Through these varied efforts, the
environmentalism of the poor began
to enter school and col lege
pedagogy. Textbooks now
mentioned the Chipko and Narmada
movements. University departments
ran courses on envi ronmental
soci ol ogy and envi ronmental
history. Specialist journals devoted
to these subjects were now printed
and read. El ements of an
environmental consciousness had,
finally, begun to permeate the
middle class.
Changing perception
In 1991 the Indian economy
started to liberalise. The dismantling
of state control s was i n part
welcome, for the licence-permit-
quota-Raj had stifled innovation and
entrepreneurship. Unfortunately,
the votari es of l i berali sati on
mounted an even more savage
attack on environmentalists than did
the proponents of state socialism.
Under their influence the media,
once so sensitive to environmental
matters, now began to demonise
people like Medha Patkar, leader of
the Narmada movement. Influential
columnists charged that she, and her
comrades, were reli cs from a
bygone era, old-fashioned leftists
who wished to keep Indi a
backward. In a single generation,
environmentalists had gone from
being seen as capitalist cronies to
being damned as socialist stooges.
Envi ronmental i sts were
attacked because, wi th the
dismantling of state controls, only
they asked the hard questions. When
a new factory, highway, or mining
project was proposed, only they
asked where the water or land
would come from, or what the
consequences would be for the
quality of the air, the state of the
forests, and the livelihood of the
people. Was development under
liberalisation only going to further
intensify the disparities between
city and countryside? Before
approving the rash of mining leases
in central India, or the large hydel
projects being built in the high (and
seismically fragile) Himalayas, had
anyone systematically assessed their
social and environmental costs and
benefits? Was a system in which the
Environmental Impact Assessment
was written by the promoter himself
something a democracy should
tolerate? These, and other questions
like them, were brushed off even as
they were being asked.
Steady deterioration
Meanwhile, the environment
continued to deteriorate. The levels
of air pollution were now shockingly
high in all Indian cities. The rivers
along which these cities were sited
were effectively dead. Groundwater
aquifers dipped alarmingly in Indias
food bowl, the Punjab. Districts in
Karnataka were devastated by open-
cast mining. Across India, the
untreated waste of ci ti es was
dumped on vi l l ages. Forests
conti nued to decl ine, and
sometimes disappear. Even the fate
of our national animal, the tiger, now
hung in the balance.
A major contributory factor to
this conti nui ng process of
degradation has been the apathy
and corruption of our political class.
A birdwatcher herself, friendly with
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progressive conservationists such as
Salim Ali, Indira Gandhi may have
been the Pri me Mini ster most
sensi ti ve (or at least l east
i nsensiti ve) to matters of
environmental sustainability. On the
other hand, of all Prime Ministers
past and present Dr. Manmohan
Singh has been the most actively
hostile. This is partly a question of
academic background; economists
are trained to think that markets can
conquer all forms of scarcity. It is
partly a matter of ideological belief;
both as Finance Minister, and now
as Prime Minister, Dr. Singh has
argued that economic growth must
al ways take precedence over
questi ons of envi ronmental
sustainability.
An environmentally literate
Prime Minister would certainly help.
That said, it is State-level politicians
who are most deeply involved in
promoting mining and infrastructure
projects that eschew environmental
safeguards even as they disregard
the communities they displace. In
my own State, Karnataka, mining
barons are directly part of the
political establishment. In other
States they act through leaders of
the Congress, the BJP, and regional
parties.
In 1928, 45 years before the
birth of the Chipko movement,
Mahatma Gandhi had said: God
forbid that India should ever take to
industrialisation after the manner of
the West. The economic imperialism
of a single tiny island kingdom
(England) is today keeping the
world in chains. If an entire nation
of 300 mil l ion took to simi lar
economic exploitation, it would
strip the world bare like locusts.
The key phrase i n thi s
quotation is after the manner of the
West. Gandhi knew that the Indian
masses had to be lifted out of
poverty; that they needed decent
education, dignified employment,
safe and secure housing, freedom
from want and from di sease.
Likewise, the best Indi an
environmentalists such as the
founder of the Chipko movement,
Chandi Prasad Bhatt have been
hard-headed realists. What they ask
for is not a return to the past, but
for the nurturing of a society, and
economy, that meets the demands
of the present without imperilling
the needs of the future.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the
finest minds in the environmental
movement sought to marry science
with sustainability. They sought to
design, and implement, forest,
energy, water and transport policies
that would augment economic
productivity and human welfare
without causing environmental
stress. They acted in the knowledge
that, unlike the West, India did not
have colonies whose resources it
coul d draw upon i n i ts own
industrial revolution.
In the mid-1980s, as I was
beginning my academic career, the
Government of Karnataka began
producing an excellent annual state
of the environment report, curated
by a top-ranking biologist, Cecil
Saldanha, and with contributions
from leading economi sts,
ecologists, energy scientists, and
urban planners. These scientific
arti cles sought to di rect the
governments policies towards
more sustainable channels. Such an
effort is inconceivable now, and not
just in Karnataka. For the prime
victim of economic liberalisation has
been environmental sustainability.
Corporate interests
A wi se, and caring,
government would have deepened
the precocious, far-seeing efforts of
our envi ronmental sci enti sts.
Instead, rati onal , fact-based
scientific research is now treated
with contempt by the political class.
The Union Environment Ministry set
up by Indi ra Gandhi has, as
the Economic and Pol i tical
Weekly recentl y remarked,
buckled completely to corporate
and industrial interests. The situation
in the States is even worse.
India today is an environmental
basket-case; marked by polluted
skies, dead rivers, falling water-
tables, ever-increasing amounts of
untreated wastes, disappearing
forests. Meanwhile, tri bal and
peasant communities continue to be
pushed off their lands through
destructi ve and carel essl y
conceived projects. A new Chipko
movement is waiting to be born.
Courtesy-The Hindu
India and America,
batting together in Asia
On a table in the office of a
senior Indian diplomat sits an
unusual piece of memorabilia: a
baseball bat. It is signed not by
members of the officials favourite
baseball team, but by the U.S.
officials who participated in the
inaugural session of the now well-
established consultations between
India and the United States on East
Asia, in 2010. This bat and the
similarly adorned cricket bat kept by
the Indian diplomats American
counterpart are an apt symbol of
how the United States and India
have deepened thei r common
understanding of the strategic stakes
in this critical region. Now they need
to deepen their economic ties
across the Pacific.
The geopolitical shifts that
shaped the expanded U.S.-India
relationship changed the way both
related to East Asia. Indias Look
East policy expressed New Delhis
intention to expand its footprint in
East Asia, after decades of thin
relations with China and relative
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neglect of the rest of the region.
Indias economic opening to the
global economy made its Asian
orientation a tangible reality. India
has si gned three free trade
agreements, all with East Asian
partners: Japan, Korea, and ASEAN.
Participation in several ASEAN-
centred institutions underscored the
political dimension of Indias Asia-
wide ties.
Three indicators
The Obama administration has
intensified a decades-long shift
toward Asia in U.S. economic and
foreign policy. The heart of U.S. Asia
policy traditionally lay in the military
anchor i n Japan, the securi ty
chal l enge of China, and the
enormous economic relationship
with both. These factors are still
important. But with the pivot or
rebalancing that administration
spokesmen have been talking about
for the past two years, look for three
new markers: deeper U.S.
engagement with Asian regional
institutions; a modest shift in the
centre of gravity of U.S. military
assets toward the Indo-Pacific
regi on; and, signi ficantl y, the
decision to treat India as part of a
larger Asian region, a decision made
more important by the growing
prominence of U.S.-India ties.
When the U.S. and Indi a
started their East Asia dialogue in
2010, both sought peace and
prosperity throughout South and
East Asia. They saw China as the
most rapidly changing regional
power, with which engagement and
cooperation are essential. Neither
wanted China to become the sole
East Asian power centre. While
neither has explicitly articulated this
as policy, both would like to foster
a network of strong relations among
the regions major players as Chinas
economic and mi li tary power
expands including India, Japan,
Korea, the United States and China
itself. Both seek an open, inclusive
institutional architecture, and are
increasingly involved with East
Asian organisations, including the
security-oriented ASEAN Regional
Forum. Both are comfortable having
ASEAN continue as the heart of
most of the regions institutions. And
for both, freedom of navigation
throughout the Indo-Pacific area is
absolutely critical.
Freedom of navigation
After almost three years of
regular consultations, we have come
to expect that India and the United
States will respond to regional
controversi es touchi ng thei r
strategic interests independently,
but will do so in ways that reinforce
each other. The South China Sea is
a good example. Chinas claim to
control virtually the entire sea has
drawn the objections of its ASEAN
littoral states. China insists on
dealing with the ASEAN countries
separately, brushing aside their
preference to work together. Within
ASEAN, there have been differences
over how to manage their dealings
with Chi na on thi s i ssue. The
organisation, unusually, was unable
to reach a consensus on a statement
on the South China Sea at its July
2012 summit.
Both India and the United
States have given carefully crafted
support to ASEAN on the South
China Sea, calling for peaceful
resolution of disputes and self-
restraint without taking a position on
the merits of the disputes. U.S.
statements have mentioned the
possibility of allowing ASEAN to
work as a group. The United States
has endorsed the ASEAN-China
Declaration on the Conduct of
Parties in the South China Sea,
calling it a good first step toward the
code of conduct favoured by
ASEAN members. India put the
dispute in the context of the U.N.
Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Both have stressed freedom of
navigation; one Indian statement
noted that half of Indias seaborne
trade comes through the South
China Sea.
India has had its own issues in
the South China Sea. China has
challenged Indias drilling on an oil
concession bloc awarded to it by
Vietnam, and the Chinese navy has
confronted or escorted Indian naval
vessel s passi ng through these
waters. India made its position
publicly clear; the strong U. S.
position on freedom of navigation
was already on record i n the
background. These separate but
parall el policies underli ne the
similarities between Indian and U.S.
interests on regional security.
It is time to take the next step:
Indian membership in Asia Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC), the
regi ons broadest economi c
i nsti tuti on. When APEC was
founded in 1989, Indias economic
pol i ci es were i nward-l ooki ng,
contrasting with the organisations
goal of free and open trade and
investment. Since then, Indias
economy has taken giant steps
toward integrating with the region
and the world, and its growth has
rivalled, and in some cases eclipsed,
that of the East Asian Tigers. India
is now the third largest economy in
Asia, and could be the second
largest in another decade. APEC
economies, in the term members
prefer, have links beyond the purely
governmental. APEC coordination
mechanisms between economic
regul ators and among pri vate
companies could strengthen both
Indias economic integration into the
regi on and i ts export
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competitiveness, to everyones
benefit. APEC includes not just East
Asian economies but several trans-
Pacific ones, in tune with Indias
emerging interest in economic ties
with Latin America.
The next move is up to
Washington. The United States was
for years reluctant to bring in India.
APEC began a moratorium on new
members around the turn of the
century, but that has now ended.
India, whose application got caught
i n the moratori um, i s
understandably not interested in
putti ng forward another
unsuccessful application. It is time
for the United States to change its
position. Like any expansion of
international economic integration,
membership would also involve
some important policy steps for
India. These would reinforce the
strategic and economic interests
that its Look East policy has long
recognised, interests that are also
foundation stones for the new
relationship with Washington.
This is a worthy objective
even if Indians and Americans
cannot agree on what game ought
properl y to be pl ayed wi th a
wooden bat.
Courtesy-The Hindu
Starving to live, not die
Over the past 12 years, Irom
Sharmila Chanu has carried on an
inconceivable hunger strike, which
has seen her body wither and her
skin turn pale. During this period,
she has emerged as the face of the
civilian resistance to the immunity,
and impunity, granted by the Armed
Forces (Special Powers) Act to the
army in Manipur. The Indian state
has done its part to disfigure that
face, by exhibiting either an inability
or unwillingness to meet Sharmilas
demands. Today, it is impossible to
think of Sharmila without recalling
images of the feeding tube that has
been forcibly thrust down her nose
to keep her alive. However, the
repeal of AFSPA and justice for the
10 civilians who were shot dead in
November 2002 by the Assam Rifles
in supposed retaliation to an attack
by insurgents in Malom, Manipur
which triggered Sharmilas protest
still remain elusive. Instead,
Sharmilas dissent expressed via her
fast unto death has repeatedly been
viewed as criminal.
Sharmila has put the Indian
state in a peculiar position, by
reconfiguri ng the dynamics of
power through a public sacrifice of
her body. Should the state, as it has
done so far, view her indefinite fast
through the lens of criminality and
consider it an attempt to commit
suici de, when Sharmi l a has
unequivocally asserted her love of
living? Or is it incongruous to do so,
especially when the Supreme Court,
i n i ts recent and much-hai led
intervention in the Ram Lila Maidan
protests against corruption, has
recognised that hunger strike is a
form of protest which has been
accepted, both historically and
l egal ly i n our consti tuti onal
jurisprudence? In fact, Sharmilas
hunger strike is an area of stark legal
vacuum. When there is a conflict
between her freedom of expression
and the Indian states interest, and
perhaps duty, in keeping her alive,
can a bal ance between these
conflicting ends be struck without
criminalising Sharmilas actions?
The history
Examples of hunger strikes
used as an expression of dissent are
copious; the suffragettes used them
in their campaign seeking the vote
for women in England during the
early 20th century. Hunger strikes
around the world have typically,
though not exclusively, been waged
by prisoners. Such was the case
when some imprisoned Iri sh
Republicans famously went on a
hunger strike in 1981 to protest
British rule of Ireland, leading to the
death of Bobby Sands and nine
others. Prisoners tend to use hunger
strikes as a mode of protest, either
to advocate a cause disagreeable to
the state or to express their dissent
against what they believe to be a
wrongful conviction. In the former
category fall cases like that of Marion
Wal l ace Dunl op, a pi oneering
suffragette who was sent to prison
for printing an extract from the Bill
of Rights on the wall of St. Stephens
Hall in the House of Commons. In
prison, Dunl op commenced a
hunger strike to continue her protest
seeking the right of women to vote.
In the latter category fall prisoners
like William Coleman, who has been
on a hunger strike lasting almost five
years in a jail in Connecticut, U.S.,
to protest what he believes to be his
wrongful conviction. Since the
global trend has been for persons
already imprisoned to resort to a
hunger strike, this mode of protest
has usually been viewed abroad as
a prisoners rights issue. The states
response of force-feeding prisoners
has been considered by some as
being tantamount to torture and an
unacceptabl e intrusi on i n the
autonomy of the prisoner, akin to
rape.
However, Indi as own
experience with hunger strikes,
whi ch has been very wel l
documented, has shown that
vi ewi ng the i ssue through a
prisoners rights framework is ill-
advised. Our freedom fighters,
Mahatma Gandhi in particular,
developed and perfected this non-
violent form of protest as a facet of
satyagraha, and although several
hunger strikes were carried out by
freedom fighters during periods of
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incarceration, the resort to this
mode of protest has never been an
exclusive domain of the imprisoned.
For instance, Potti Sreeramulu, a
freedom fighter and Gandhian,
fasted to his death, in seeking the
creation of a separate State of
Andhra Pradesh in independent
Indi a. The Narmada Bachao
Andol an movement wi tnessed
hunger strikes in 2002 to protest the
construction of dams over the Maan
River in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh.
More recently, Anna Hazare and his
associates carried on hunger strikes
against corruption. All of these
protests were, and continue to be,
carried on for the large part, outside
the walls of prison. For this reason,
a prisoners rights framework may,
by itself, be insufficient to view the
legality of hunger strikes in India.
Attempted suicide?
An alternative way to analyse
hunger strikes, especially fasts unto
death, is through the framework of
a constitutional right to die. In India,
not a little morbidly, this argument
seems to have reached a dead
end. Although the Supreme Court
i n P. Rathi nam v. Uni on of
India (1994) initially asserted that
the Indian constitutional guarantee
of a fundamental right to life carries
with it a fundamental right to die,
subsequent decisions in Gian Kaur
v. State of Punjab (1996) and Aruna
Shanbaug v. Union of India(2011)
overruled that view, and it is now
conclusively established that Indian
citizens do not have a fundamental
right to die. In Gian Kaur , the
Supreme Court upheld the validity
of Section 309 of the Indian Penal
Code, whi ch cri mi nal i ses the
attempt to commit suicide (i.e. the
provision under which Sharmila has
been charged, and previousl y
convicted). In Shanbaug , the
Supreme Court allowed only for a
highl y ci rcumscri bed ri ght to
approach courts to seek withdrawal
of life support systems for patients
in a permanent vegetative state.
Thus, it appears futile to argue that
Indian citizens have a right to fast
unto death when, according to the
apex court, they have no right to die.
However, thi s does not
automati call y mean that the
undertaking of fasts unto death is
criminal or that one does not have a
fundamental right to hunger strike
of a definite period where there is
no danger of death being caused.
One may not have the right to do
something, but to do it nonetheless
neednt be criminal.
In i ndependent Indi a, the
resort to hunger strikes has usually,
though with some exceptions (such
as the hunger strike by prisoners
within a jail), not been viewed
through the lens of criminality. For
instance, Potti Sreeramulu was
never consi dered cri minal or
suicidal by the Indian state for his
fatal hunger strike. Anna Hazare
likewise has undertaken several
indefinite hunger strikes for various
causes, but has never been
perceived as a criminal on this
account. The most promi nent
exampl e of the Indi an state
criminalising a fast unto death per
se is that of Sharmilas. If we really
believe rape is as vile as we have
recently claimed it to be, then would
it be just to treat Sharmilas strike
against AFSPA, a law that shields
rapists from prosecution, differently
from Hazares strike agai nst
corruption? More i mportantl y,
would it be just for a societys laws
to selectively criminalise hunger
stri kes depending upon the
objectives such strikes seek to
achieve?
This brings us to the question
of whether Sharmilas case, and
more generally fasts unto death, are
appropriately viewed as attempts
to commit suicide under Section
309 of the Indian Penal Code. Any
criminal offence, barring certain
exceptions, requires the proof of
a mens rea , or the existence of a
guilty mind. Sharmila has been
fasting not with an intention to die,
but with an intention to achieve a
desired result from the state. Her
refusal to consume food or water
can be criminalised only if she has
acted in furtherance of a conscious
endeavour to commit suicide. In the
absence of such conscious
endeavour, to accuse and prosecute
her for an offence under Section 309
is misconceived.
Freedom to express
The questions of whether to
treat Sharmi la as cri minal and
whether the state should be allowed
to force-feed her are distinct. As
mi sgui ded as Sharmi las
prosecution may be, the question
regarding the legality of nasally
force-feeding her to keep her alive
still remains open. The Supreme
Court has, on the one hand, held that
the threat of going on a hunger strike
extended by Baba Ramdev at Ram
Lila Maidan, cannot be termed
illegal. Presumably, this right that the
court spoke of flows from a citizens
right to freedom of expression. That
right is subject to reasonable
restrictions in the interest of the
sovereignty and integrity of India,
public order, decency, morality, or
in relation to contempt of court,
defamation or incitement to an
offence. If Sharmilas fast unto death
is essentially an exercise of her
fundamental right to freedom of
expression, the state, in force-
feeding her, may presumably be
acting in furtherance of its right to
impose reasonable restrictions as
permitted by our Constitution.
However, force-feeding, even if
conducted in a humane and largely
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non-intrusive manner, has been
widely considered to be tantamount
to torture. Even though the state
might merel y be i mposing
restrictions that are reasonable
within the meaning of Article 19 of
the Constitution, the measure might
nonethel ess be a vi ol ati on of
Sharmilas right to life and personal
liberty under Article 21.
In our opinion, fasts unto death
occupy an area of legal vacuum that
offer no easy solutions. Should the
state allow Sharmila to die and, in
the process, abdicate its duty to
protect life? Or must it resort to
force-feeding her, even though such
actions hit at the core of her bodily
integrity? While neither offers a
perfectly tailored legal solution,
what is certain is that a balance
ought to be struck between these
starkly conflicting ends without
criminalising Sharmilas actions. For,
to do so would be tantamount to
stigmatising an exercise by a citizen
of her right to freedom of expression
in advocating a particular cause
when other citizens have used the
freedom in exactly the same manner
wi thout suffering prosecution,
simply because they advocated
causes of a different, and less
complex, nature.
Courtesy-The Hindu
The Silent War
over Education Reforms
Two major reports wi th
overl appi ng concerns were
submitted to the central government
during the last decade. They were
drafted by committees appointed
by two different offices of the same
government. One was chaired by
Yash Pal, and the other by Sam
Pi troda. The titl es of the two
committees indicated both the
contours of their deliberation as well
as areas of potential overlap. The
first committee, chaired by Yash Pal,
was appointed by the Ministry of
Human Resource Development in
2008, and was cal led the
commi ttee to advi se on
rejuvenation and renovation of
higher education. The second,
chai red by Sam Pi troda, was
appointed by the Prime Ministers
Office in 2005 and carried the more
compact titl e, the Nati onal
Knowledge Commission (NKC).
Both reports talk about
expanding the provision of higher
educati on wi thout sacri fi ci ng
quality, and as such, a cursory
reading would suggest that there is
not much difference between the
views articulated by the two groups.
In the specific sphere of knowledge,
both panels favour imaginative
i nterface between areas and
disciplines as a means of promoting
creativity.
They evince equal amounts of
anxi ety over the problems of
accreditation and licensing faced by
institutions that impart professional
education. And, on the matter of
institutional fragmentation at the
apex l evel , both recommend
establishment of an umbrella body
capable of subsuming the
overlapping functions of existing
structures.
With so many apparent
similarities, it is not surprising that
the Yash Pal report and Sam
Pitrodas NKC are routinely invoked
in the same breath whenever a new
policy or decision comes up for
discussion. A careful decoding,
however, reveals that the two
reports are based on contrasting
perspectives on the relationship
between knowledge and education,
and between these and soci al
needs. From the point of view of the
political economy embedded in the
two reports, the visions of reform
they endorse are incompatible.
Skill deficit
Both reports recognise a crisis
i n higher educati on, but thei r
diagnosis of the nature of that crisis
is quite different. While NKC views
the narrow growth of hi gher
education in the context of skills, it
is not quite clear how it relates the
current parlance of skill deficit to
higher education. The idea comes
across as an obvious issue or as an
assumpti on: Whi l e hi gher
education enrolment has to increase
markedly, the skill requirement of
the growing economy means that a
large proportion of our labour force
needs to be provided vocational
education and be trained in skills.
Thi s ski l l el ement has to be
integrated with the higher education
system to ensure maxi mum
mobility. Confusing as these words
are, they convey the shape of things
to come if NKCs vision becomes
reality. The report discusses the
pauci ty of skil l s i n the vast
unorganised sector, but shows little
interest in the context in which this
paucity has grown. After all, the
economy must be in a position or
evolve towards one which provides
employment prospects attractive to
skilled personnel.
Knowledge and skills
The fact that Indian
manufacturing has provided slow
empl oyment growth cal led
jobless growth during the 1990s
or that the IT-enabl ed sector
provides less than 0.5 per cent of
total employment, indicates that at
least two sectors commonly linked
with ski l ls and the so-call ed
knowledge economy, respectively,
are not in a position to provide
massive additional employment, or
at least not immediately. No doubt
the economy might evolve, and
these or other sectors change in
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ways that provi de additi onal
employment, but the push for
vocational skills, whether or not at
the cost of higher education, cannot
ignore a detail ed plan of how
industry-training linkages will also
be simultaneously developed. This
is precisely what NKC ignores,
harnessi ng the rhetori c of
knowledge with a variety of suffixes
while refraining from relating it to
the actual needs of the economy or
higher education.
A relevant analysis of this kind,
i.e. focusing on working conditions,
l ivel ihoods, and economi c
opportunities, was presented by a
commission chaired by the late Dr.
Arjun Sengupta, which dealt with
the crisis of skill deficit in the larger
context of poverty and working
conditions. Ignoring Senguptas
recommendations for
comprehensive measures, the NKC
opts for merel y rebrandi ng
vocational education and training
to increase its value and ability to
command higher incomes. This
unusual phraseology denotes rather
transparently what must happen to
the higher education system. NKC
i s worri ed about its si ze and
enrolment capacity because it wants
to use it for skilling. Vocational
education will get rebranded by the
transformation of the bulk of higher
education into a skill-imparting
apparatus, all unfortunately in the
name of the knowledge economy.
In fact, the dichotomisation of
knowledge and skills is perhaps one
of the most problematic aspects in
the current parlance of education.
The focus on skill development has
emerged concomitantly with the
discourse of a knowledge society
and knowledge economy. The
relationship between the two is not
di ffi cul t to draw. Both are
respondi ng to the l arge-scal e
deskilling that has taken place in the
wake of technological changes
geared towards automation and
efficiency. A new class of corporate
interests has emerged with the
advent of new i nformati on
technology and footloose financial
capital. New kinds of alliances have
emerged between the state and
industry, even as education itself has
emerged as a key market. These
alliances enable the state to freeze
or greatly reduce the employment
it provides while allowing the so-
called knowledge industries to
transform the nature and quality of
employment in the wider economy.
Many different kinds of work have
vanished from the market, while
others have got downgraded,
reduci ng empl oyment and
perpetuating deskilling, a scenario
where educati onal pl anning is
doubtless deepl y impl icated.
Governing the youth and managing
their prospects has always been
important for the state, and now the
l atter consi sts of transi ent
opportunities for work, interspersed
by modular opportunities to learn
new skills. This is where education
is positioned in the knowledge
economy: it is supposed to control
the soci al damage caused by
underemployment, casual work,
deskilling and the associated loss of
self-identity.
The Yash Pal committee had a
difficult task of suggesting ways to
rejuvenate an old, jaded higher
education system in the middle of a
crisis of academic governance. The
committee faced the challenge by
reiterating why the classical idea of
a university is important a place
where people think freely, and
create new knowledge by engaging
with their milieu, thereby inducting
the young into a culture of thinking.
Undergraduate education
The l argest such space
available in the Indian system are the
undergraduate colleges affiliated to
universi ti es. Given Indias
demographic geography, these
institutions served historically to
harness talent in dispersed locations
under condi ti ons of col onial
underdevelopment of the school
system. The Yash Pal committee
took a bold stance in appreciating
this role, examining the factors that
have undermined undergraduate
education including the gross
inequality between Central and
State universities and reaffirming
its faith in their academic potential
while suggesting how to improve
them. Instead, NKC follows the
popular trend of bemoaning these
colleges for their ills that actually
stem from long-term, systemic
negl ect. Percei vi ng them as a
burden, NKC recommends the
creation of an affiliating board and
converting undergraduate colleges
into community colleges. The
meaning of this term derives from
its history in the American system.
Without bothering to examine this
history, NKC simply hijacks the word
community as part of the effort to
rebrand vocational education, as it
then infi ltrates undergraduate
colleges. If this move becomes
widely implemented a process
that has indeed already begun the
sons and daughters of Indi as
masses may anticipate a wilful
snatching away of their hard-won
opportuni ty to
access actual higher education.
In marked contrast, the Yash
Pal commi ttee di fferenti ates
between, and expl ai ns how
institutions providing vocational
educati on can be li nked with
uni versiti es. Si mil arl y, for the
training of school teachers at all
levels, the Yash Pal report suggests
deeper academic engagement, not
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the magical touch of information
technol ogy. In other areas of
professional training too, the Yash
Pal perspective was to loosen the
grip of regulatory institutions whose
monopolistic functioning is widely
acknowledged to have resulted in
corruption.
The silent polemic underlying
the two reports is thus sharp and
suggestive. If NKC guides the future
course of higher education, its crisis
will deepen and what good is left in
it will rapidly erode, with painful
consequences. That process has, in
fact, begun. In the meanwhile, Yash
Pal has been chosen for the award
of Padma Vibhushan, apparently for
his services to science and the cause
of humanist learning at school.
Courtesy-The Hindu
One river, Two
Countries, too Many Dams
By raising the Brahmaputra
dams construction issue during his
first meeting with the new Chinese
President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh was following a
two-pronged strategy. On the one
hand, Dr. Singh wanted to bring
Indi as unease wi th Chi nese
construction on Brahmaputras main
channel to the worlds notice. On
the other, by saying publicly that
most Chinese projects might not
store water, he was trying to ensure
that any ensuing debate in the
country does not snowball into one
more round of panic-stricken news
reports. The Chinese government
has been reticent about dams being
constructed on transborder rivers.
India is not alone in seeking these
details. Many lower riparian South
East Asian countri es and even
Kazakhstan in Central Asia want
China to be more forthcoming about
plans to build dams or divert water
from transborder rivers.
Even though some of the dams
India is concerned about have
recently figured in the Chinese
governments plan documents, for
a long time open source literature,
satellite reconnaissance and source
reports were unable to confirm their
actual impact on river flows, thus
raising anxiety levels here. During a
press conference on his way back
from Durban where he met the
Chinese President and sought a joint
mechanism, Dr. Singh was careful to
add a caveat. While confirming that
he had asked for greater
transparency from China, the Prime
Minister added that the projects on
the main channel of the
Brahmaputra appeared to be run-of-
the-river, that is, they would not
have significant storage.
Perhaps he was keen to avoid
the alarm of media reports on
Chinas plans to divert 40 billion
cubic metres of water from the
Brahmaputra (known as Yarlong
Tsangpo in China) in 2003. The
Chinese have put the brakes on the
project or perhaps shelved it, but
Indi as apprehensi ons found
another outlet when, a few years
later, a massive landslip blocked
portions of the river at an area
known as the Great Bend. The
misgivings were quelled after water
cut a course through the blockade
and flows returned to normal.
In both cases, the Chinese
shared little information about the
developments. India kept hoping
that its diplomatic notes and media
exposure of Beijings aversion to
sharing details would make the
problem go away. It was only a
couple of years back that China
agreed with the Indian request (and
separately to that of some Asean
states) to share hydrological data.
But another concern had arisen
by then. Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh fi rst raised it wi th then
Chinese President Hu Jintao in
March, 2012. The Chinese were
already aware of Indias concerns as
then Foreign Ministers S.M. Krishna
and Yang Jiechi had discussed it in
their preparatory meeting before Mr.
Hus visit.
When Dr. Singh and Mr.
Krishna spoke about dams on the
main channel of the Brahmaputra,
only one was at the active-
construction stage and information
was still coming in about the others.
Since then, India has got a firmer fix
on a series of three dams on the
main channel of the Brahmaputra.
The three dams Ji exu,
Zangmu and Jiacha are within 25
km of each other. More ominously
for strategic experts fixated on the
China threat, they are 550 km from
the Indian border. But the first one,
Jiexu, has been independently
confirmed to be a run-of-the-river
project which will not impound
water in a l arge reservoi r.
Construction on the second in the
series, Zangmu, began in 2010 and
Indian authorities are not sure if this
will be a pure RoR variety. The third,
a 320 MW dam, will be built at
Jiacha, about a dozen km
downstream of Zangmu, and even
this is more or less confirmed to be
run-of-the-river.
These are not the only ones
about which India has not been
adequately informed. A dam near
Zhongda and another near Phudo
Zong, as well as 30 other projects
were planned and executed with
Beijing disclosing little to India.
Indias fears about diversion of
waters of the Brahmaputra have not
been completely assuaged. It
deploys high-end technology and
spends considerable money on
keepi ng a keen eye on water
conductor systems and basins
adjacent to Brahmaputra for clues
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on constructions of canals to take
the water away to Chinas north-
western provinces.
Added worry
The dams have added another
area of worry, more so because
there was an increase of eight sites
i n August l ast year since the
previous assessment was made in
2011. Mr. Xis reply was a near copy
of the answer gi ven by hi s
predecessor three years back. Both
had assured all projects were of the
run-of-the-river variety. By adding
that Beijing would examine the
proposal, Mr. Xi has given hope for
movement on a joint mechanism to
share informati on about
constructi on acti viti es on the
Brahmaputra.
Due to the low level of political
trust, it has been tough for countries
of the region to be forthcoming
about their plans for hydroelectric
proj ects. The India-Paki stan
skirmishing over dams in north
Kashmir is well known. Two cases
went for international arbitration.
Experts are still sorting out what a
recent award means for the viability
of a dam being built by India.
With Bangladesh, India was
coy for years about parting with
information. Things changed after
Sheikh Hasina set about quelling
Indias security related fears by
extraditing militants from North
Eastern outfits and discouraging
anti-India activity by third-country
intelligence agencies. Today India
has offered Bangladesh an equity
stake in the Tipaimukh Dam in
Manipur. It was lack of information
on this dam that earlier led to a
public agitation in Bangladesh and
for a ti me made the High
Commissioner the most unpopular
Indian in Dhaka. Bangladesh has
now sought joint participation in
nine more projects.
China woul d be wary of
conceding the demand for a joint
mechanism precisely to avoid just
such an escalation of demands by
India. On the other hand, as the
border issue is unlikely to be settled
in the near future, this limited
cooperation on water without
prejudice to the upper riparian state
on any further demands would
be an easy way to increase political
capital between the two countries.
Till then, Dr. Singhs second
prong of not raising unnecessary
alarm that may spill over to other
areas of discord must be put in
operation. The first step would be
to accept the Brahmaputra Inter
Mi ni steri al Expert Groups
recommendation for an informed
publ i c debate to ensure that
discussions veer to the possibility of
joint management of river basins
common to several countries.
Courtesy-The Hindu
Reforms that Never Come
Animal behaviour, was the
unusual language the Supreme
Court deployed recently. The
context for the cryptic remarks was
the gruesome lathi-charge on
protesting teachers, predominantly
women, engaged on contract by the
Bihar government, and the attacks
on a woman who sought police
intervention in a case of assault. The
police carry a long and ignominious
record of resort to indiscriminate
force to quell peaceful protesters,
which peaked in the public outrage
over the Delhi gang-rape and the
death of a journalist in Manipur in
2012. Often, the aims of the political
masters the pol i ce serve are
diametrically opposed to the public
interest they are duty-bound to
protect in a democracy. The judges
were perfectly justified in ventilating
their impatience, having issued
notice after notice in the past to
Chief Secretaries and Directors
General of Poli ce for greater
accountability. In a landmark 2006
verdict, the Supreme Court came
out with its now famous seven steps
to police reforms. Insulation of the
force from illegitimate political
interference, transparency in the
appointment of the DGP, separation
of the l aw and order and
investigative functions and the
establ ishment of a complaints
authority are the more important
among them. They still remain on
paper. Most of these
recommendations have been the
sum and substance of the eight
reports of the Nati onal Pol ice
Commi ssi ons consti tuted by
successive governments over the
years. They were further reiterated
by two committees set up in the
1990s on pol i ce reforms and
embodied in the Model Police Act
proposed to replace the colonial
law of 1861.
Court hearings on compliance
with the seven steps were met with
requests and more requests for
extension of deadlines, ultimately
leading to contempt proceedings
against some State governments. It
is noteworthy that regional parties
which have been repeatedly elected
to office over the past few decades
have demonstrably failed to live up
to their avowedly federal and
democratic credenti al s. Si nce
pol i ce and l aw and order are
subjects under the Constitutions
State Li st, the responsi bi li ty
devolves upon the States. Thus, the
prospects for the enactment of a
modern police law nearly seven
decades after independence hang
in the balance. Genuine lessons
from the dark record of Emergency
rule, encapsulated in the Shah
Commi ssi on fi ndings and the
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reports produced by the National
Police Commissions of the late
1970s, have not been drawn. This is
the bitter truth, one that no political
party is willing to admit nearly four
decades si nce the so-call ed
restoration of democracy in India.
Courtesy-The Hindu
Yellow Sea, Red Herring?
The rising tension between the
Democratic Republic of Korea, or
North Korea, and its southern
neighbour the Republic of Korea, or
South Korea, amounts to the latest
among many standoffs over 60
years, but this one involves certain
new factors in addition to several
older ones. Among the more familiar
reasons are the annual United
States-South Korean naval exercises,
which last two months and this year
are to conclude at the end of April;
they al ways cause i l l -feeli ng
between Pyongyang and Seoul.
Another reason is the DPRKs wish
to be recognised as a nuclear-
weapon power, not least because
Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un is only
following his father and grandfather,
the countrys previous two leaders,
in seeing nuclear weapons as the
nations life, the phrase the ruling
Workers Party used in a March 31
resolution. The third familiar factor
i s that North Korea has never
accepted the maritime boundary the
South drew in the Yellow Sea at the
time of the 1953 armistice which
ended the Korean War.
The current contretemps,
however, contai ns potenti al l y
dangerous new elements. The U.S.
has flown B-2 stealth bombers
across the Korean Peninsula, and has
placed missile interceptors on the
Pacific island of Guam, in apparent
response to South Korean reports
that Pyongyang had placed missiles
near the border between the two
countries. Secondly, the North has
ended the armistice, and its military
says it has been authorised to attack
the U.S. with nuclear weapons. This
might be technically implausible,
but one of the greatest risks of
destabilisation lies in the DPRKs
withdrawal from a hotline network;
there also seem to be no direct links
between Pyongyang and
Washington, and the DPRK has made
no response to U. S. contacts
through senior envoys. Yet that is not
rejection, because Mr. Kim wants
direct contact with President Barack
Obama. Although the U.N. Security
Council has repeatedly condemned
North Koreas nuclear and missile
tests and demanded the immediate
revocation of its withdrawal from
the Nucl ear Non-prol i ferati on
Treaty, the util i ty of such an
approach some seven years after the
DPRK first went nuclear perhaps
needs to be examined. North Korea
will not give up its nuclear weapons
and will ratchet up its rhetoric and
force posture whenever the calls for
it to do so are stridently repeated.
The country, nevertheless, appears
not to want war, and even the ROKs
defence minister Kim Kwan-jin says
there is no sign of Northern troop
mobilisation. If there is a clear
message in the situation, it is that the
sooner the U.S. starts talking directly
with the DPRK the better the
chances will be of lasting dtente
in the region.
Courtesy-The Hindu
Money first, ethics second
The recent Supreme Court
j udgment denying Novarti s, a
mul ti nati onal pharmaceuti cal
company, continuing patent rights
over Glivec, a potent anti-cancer
drug, has brought several lesser
known facts to light.
It is not as if Novartis financed
the entire research that led to the
discovery and development of
Glivec in 2002. The National Cancer
Institute (NCI), a division of the
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
in the United States, funded the
lions share. For the NIH it was but
one in a chain of many path-breaking
achievements beginning in 1968.
That year, the head of the section of
Biochemical Genetics at the NIH, Dr.
Marshall W. Nirenberg, was a joint
winner of the Nobel Pri ze i n
Medicine for discovering the key to
deciphering the genetic code.
What needs to be noted is that
both the NIH and the NCI are public
institutions funded by taxpayers
monies and by personal grants. The
moti vati on to set up these
institutions was never profit but the
desire to use the fruits of research
to ensure a long and healthy life for
all populations: long-term, basic
scientifi c research rather than
sharply focused quests for treatment
and disease prevention. It is not
easy for a research institution to start
at the top and stay there. In India,
the All India Institute of Medical
Sciences (AIIMS) was set up in New
Del hi , i n 1956, by an Act of
Parliament. It was to be a centre of
excellence which would foster
teachi ng and research.
Unfortunately, it soon became a
treating hospital for everything
barring, burn cases, dog-bite cases
and pati ents suffering from
infectious diseases. It is, therefore,
not surprising that despite the many
notable contributions it made over
the years, the research it did never
quite measured up to the standard
requi red to produce a Nobel
l aureate. Thi s i s what NIH
laboratories and the units it funded
in universities across America were
able to do consistently over a period
of time. The research undertaken
was not inspired by a need to
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respond onl y to the changing
epidemiological picture of the
United States and limit its benefits
to U.S. citizens alone. The NIH
conducted research on malaria,
l eprosy, sani tati on, di etary
deficiency diseases, etc., which
were typically problems of less
developed countries. This is not
surprising, as the NIH was, from
inception, geared towards long-
term, basic scientific research. The
NCI on the other hand was
persuaded to engage in clinical
trials, beginning in 1952 with the
administration of the Pap smear test
to 150,000 women in the U.S.
In the late 1980s and early
1990s, NIH and NCI scientists began
to treat cancer patients with gene
therapy based on research done on
mice. By 2001, they had developed
a genetic test that distinguished
between two types of hereditary
breast cancers caused by mutations.
This was followed in the opening
decade of this century with the
discovery of Glivec and a vaccine
for the preventi on of cervi cal
cancer. It did appear that sharply
focused quests for treatment and
disease prevention were now
taki ng centre stage. Pri vate
pharmaceutical companies were
now quick to spot an opportunity
for making profits by partnering with
the NCI. This is why when Glivec
was finally ready for use, it was
Novartis that claimed patent rights
and reaped huge monetary benefits,
masking the contribution made by
the NCI. This model, predictably, is
one that is far from beneficial to the
end users patients and national
health systems who not only end up
paying huge amounts for drugs like
Glivec, but also for drugs with
l i mi ted effi cacy whi ch are
nevertheless hyped and prescribed
thanks to the powerful pharma
l obby. Today, not onl y are
institutions like the NIH and the NCI
turning over the fruits of basic
research to private collaborators
who in turn dictate the terms on
which they will be made available
to the public, but priorities too are
changing with less engagement
abroad. It i s phi l anthropi c
foundations like the Melinda and Bill
Gates Foundation that are now
stepping in to fill the gap. In India,
on the other hand, research
continues to be a stillborn child with
more and more emphasi s on
second-hand treatments and
cheaper drugs that promi se a
lucrative return as the incidence
rates of non-communi cabl e
diseases soar in the less developed
world.
Differences
Despite the fact that the U.S.
and India are not comparable in
terms of research, the heal th
systems in both countries are in a
sorry state. By ceding ground to
pharmaceutical lobbies, America
has significantly nullified the huge
research advantage that the NIH
gave it. As a result, Americans not
only have a poorer health status than
Europeans, but also pay a much
higher price for their drugs than
Europeans do. In India, on the other
hand, the health system is laid low
because there is hardly any high-end
research taking place. This places us
at the mercy of pricing mechanisms
influenced by international drug
companies.
The sad result is that cancer
patients in India, as well as those
around the world, despite the
respi te created by the recent
Supreme Court j udgment, wi ll
conti nue to i nhabit a hosti l e
universe. Drug prices will keep on
rising to satisfy the greed of those
who manufacture them with little
relation to what is conscionable. A
warning shot has already been fired
by oncologists who argue that the
costs of cancer drugs and
treatments are fast becoming
unaffordabl e and that unl ess
corrective actions are taken, a crisis
is very near and very real.
Courtesy-The Hindu
When the truth virtually got hit
The snarling attack between a
European spam-fighting company
(Spamhaus) and a Dutch hosting
firm (Cyberpunker) spilled over to
two major news publ ications
recently.
On March 19, a spokesperson
for Spamhaus announced that it was
being attacked by Cyberpunker for
being added i nto Spamhauss
blacklist of companies that were
sendi ng out spam messages.
Cyberpunkers retaliation was to rain
down a blitz of digital noise upon
Spamhaus servers.
Over that week, the sheer
volume of noise produced jammed
up the Internet and caused
widespread slowdowns in digital
traffic around the world. Eventually,
on March 26, two journalists from a
major American newspaper picked
up the story.
Quoti ng empl oyees of an
i nternet securi ty fi rm named
CloudFlare, which had come into
the line of fire after trying to defend
the attacks, John Markoff and Nicole
Perlroth led readers to believe the
attacks were comparabl e to a
nuclear bomb. They even attempted
to tie up a temporary outage of
Netflix, a movie-streaming service,
with the spam assault.
Three days later, on March 29,
Heather Brooke sought to defuse the
situati on through an equall y
reputable British newspaper. She
took the laid-back view that the
attacks might not really be attacks
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at all but simply vested interests at
work. Brookes primary source of
i nformati on was Gi zmodo, a
website that reports on digital news.
Whil e Markoff/Perl roth
escalated the attacks to absurd
proportions, Brooke sought to
di smiss them wi th no original
research of her own.
One of response
The fundamental issue here is
one of response: what should one
do when an event breaks out that
isnt immediately verifiable? Sure,
scepticism is warranted, but one has
to remember that it cuts both ways.
Not wanting to believe a nuclear
bomb had dropped on the internet
is smart, but that doesnt mean the
other extreme is true. An attack had
happened after all.
There were repercussions in
areas like Denver (Colorado), near
Mumbai, and in Doha all with a
Tier 1 network provider resulting
in greatly increased latency, and
impacting downstream providers.
So there was an attack, and it did
have a noticeable impact. But it was
far less annoying than screaming
internet broken would lead one to
believe.
On the other hand, some of the
questions Gi zmodo, and by
extension, Brooke, asks are too
trivial.
Consider, for example, this: If
the Internet attack real l y had
happened, why isnt my Internet
slowing down? Just because your
internet and mine did not slow
down does not mean it didnt
happen.
The Ameri cans Netfl i x
connection, however, was equally
tenuous.
For lack of a direction to
pursue such stories, understating is
better than overstating. After all, the
truth was consi derabl y less
dramatic: it lay between a nuclear
bomb and vested interests. It just
got lost in the imagined mushroom
cloud.
Courtesy-The Hindu
Time to Revisit the
Vienna Convention
The Ital i an Ambassadors
matter before the Supreme Court is
over but problems with the Vienna
Convention will not go away. This is
because the past three decades
have witnessed an increasing effort
on the part of western countries to
unilaterally introduce changes in the
appl i cati on of the Vi enna
Convention of Diplomatic Relations
to the detriment of diplomats of
developing countries. They say that
this aggressive approach i s in
keeping with new standards of
humanitarian and labour laws.
However, its selective, self-serving
and at ti mes unscrupulous
application belies these tall claims.
These countries are also taking care
to ensure that the functioning or
personal situations of diplomats
working in their embassies are not
i mpai red whi l e considerabl e
difficulties are experienced by those
of developing countries.
Some years ago the domestic
help who had accompanied a senior
Indian diplomat to his post in a
Western country sued hi m for
maltreatment in a local court. Along
with the dipl omat, the Indian
government was also sued. The
country concerned took the position
that its courts had jurisdiction as it
was a civil law matter.
As the case was going on,
authentic documentary evidence
emerged that establ i shed the
involvement of the officials of the
host country in a virtual conspiracy
to instigate the domestic help to
leave his employer. They had also
created circumstances that had
enabled him to take legal action.
Under sustained pressure from
South Block, the country cleared up
the matter within its own system,
including its courts, but requested
the Indian authorities that the issue
be kept confidential. That request
was accepted for diplomats prefer
to deal with all matters relating to
privileges, immunities and protocol
discreetly, outside the public gaze.
They especi al ly try to avoi d
entanglements with the courts. That
i s one reason why the Itali an
Ambassadors affi davi t to the
Supreme Court was, per se, so
extraordinary.
Safety net
The Conventi on codi fi es
traditional immunities and privileges
given to di pl omats to enabl e
predictable diplomatic interaction
between states. Immunities are
essential for diplomatic interaction.
They also provide a safety net for
intelligence officers posted under
cover in Embassies. The identity of
such offi cers i s known or
discovered by host countri es.
Whenever their activities cross the
acceptable line, they are declared
persona non grata and are publicly
expelled. Reciprocal action is taken
in such cases by the other country.
Diplomats caught in unbecoming
acts including criminal acts such as
smuggling or bribing are withdrawn
quietly at the demand of the host
country or suo moto . Reciprocal
action is seldom taken in such cases.
Till about four decades ago,
a laissez-faire approach was taken
in the working of Missions. Issues
relating to commercial disputes of
embassies or differences between
embassies and local employees
were almost always resolved quietly
between the embassies and foreign
ministries. They were not allowed to
reach the courts. It was generally felt
that local staff were outside the
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jurisdiction of the application of
local labour laws even if their work
contracts were more generous than
the contracts between embassies
and local staff. Western countries
took the lead in asserting that their
labour laws would cover employees
recruited locally by embassies and
disputes between them would, if
necessary, have to go to the courts
whose decisi ons woul d be
executed. Bank accounts of some
embassies have been frozen on
orders of Italian courts or payments
made from them in commercial or
labour disputes.
Defining family
There was certainly no attempt
at intervening with home based
personnel including domestic help.
Now this is being done regularly as
in the Indian domestic helps case.
Court action is being allowed even
though they are Indian nationals, are
recruited in India and always travel
on official passports.
Another emerging problematic
area is the definition of family itself.
The Convention prescribes that
members of a diplomats household
also enjoy immunity. It does not
define household but it is accepted
that household means family. The
official definition of family differs
from country to country. In the past,
a relaxed attitude was taken and
dependent children irrespective of
their age or dependent parents were
accepted as family and given the
protection of the Convention. Now,
western countries and some others
are applying their official definition
of fami l y. Consequently many
dipl omats from devel opi ng
countries with elderly single parents
or dependent universi ty goi ng
children face problems. On the
other hand western countries are
urging that live-in partners of their
diplomats be accepted as family
members under the Convention.
Inherent to the Vi enna
Conventi on i s the practi ce of
reciprocity. Reciprocity can be
applied if a diplomatic privilege is
restricted or denied by one country,
even if it is applied uniformly to all
diplomats stationed there. The
problem lies in uneven situations
where on account of their power
and economic clout some countries
can get a better deal for their
diplomats. There is no absolute
freedom of movement for
diplomats. Many countries require
that diplomats seek the clearance of
the Foreign Ministries before leaving
the capi tal ci ty. In any event,
sensitive areas are out of bounds for
them. The European Union mildly
and indirectly protested against the
Supreme Courts decision that the
Italian Ambassador should not leave
the country till it heard the matter
o n
April 2. In view of the sui generis
circumstances of the case, this
wri ter feel s that i t was not
unwarranted.
The Vienna Convention is now
50 years old. In these decades, the
world, including that of diplomacy,
has changed in fundamental ways.
A review of the Convention will be
timely.
Courtesy-The Hindu
Fencing in the RBI
The final report of the Financial
Sector Legisl ati ve Reforms
Commission (FSLRC), which was
given a wide mandate to draw a
bl ueprint for new financi al
regulatory architecture, has evoked
strong responses. While some have
called it a potential game changer,
others find its recommendations out
of touch with Indian reality. The
FSLRC had to grapple with several
dissenting views even among its
members. Besides, any radical
overhaul of existing regulatory
infrastructure will naturally take
time. The most discussed proposal
is the one to set up a new regulatory
enti ty, the Uni fi ed Financi al
Regulatory Agency (UFRA), to be
solely responsible for the oversight
of the securities market, insurance,
pensions and commodities, in effect
taking over the functions of existing
regulators including the Securities
and Exchange Board of India, the
Insurance Regul atory and
Development Authority and the
Pensi on Fund Regul atory and
Development Authority. That would
result in the financial sector having
just two main regulators, the Reserve
Bank of India and the proposed
UFRA. Both are expected to
coordinate thei r acti vi ti es,
preferably through an MOU. If that
is not new after all, regulators
have to work in unison for better
results the recommendation that
the principal regulators should be
board driven and not follow the top
down approach that they are used
to has caused some consternation.
A key recommendation to set up a
monetary policy committee which,
rather than the RBI Governor, will
decide on policy rates is arguably
the most controversial proposal.
This is seen as a not so subtle
attempt to clip the wings of the RBI,
also because of the related move to
confer powers on the government
to appoi nt members of the
commi ttee. However, the RBI
Governor will have veto powers on
i nterest rates under certai n
circumstances and after making out
a case in writing. The bias towards
government is even more obvious
in the recommendation to appoint
the Finance Minister as head of the
Financial Stability and Development
Counci l . The RBI has for l ong
resisted encroachment on what it
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ri ghtl y consi ders to be i ts
jurisdiction. There is no denying that
the FSLRC would like to vest greater
accountability with the government
than with regulators. In its opinion,
a maj or overhaul of Indias
regulatory system for the financial
sector is due and best done on the
lines suggested by it. But there is
bound to be serious disagreement
over the validity of a key assumption
the report makes on Indias financial
sector. Surely systemic failures are
due more to excessi ve
financialisation of markets than to
failures of regulation, as assumed by
the Commission.
Courtesy-The Hindu
Keep the green tax
The Centre would be sending
out a message totally incongruous
with nati onal devel opment
obj ectives, i f it buckl es under
lobbying pressure and withdraws
the three per cent excise duty hike
on Sports Uti l ity Vehi cl es
introduced in the Union budget.
SUVs are not the common mans
utilitarian cars and the increase in
duty covers only the more luxurious
vehicles that are, at least in the
Indian context, mere Veblen goods.
The world over, SUVs do not win
plaudits for fuel efficiency, and a
muscular bigger is better cult has
grown around these vehicles. These
large and heavy space-hogs have a
bad accident profile when it comes
to pedestrians. Pleading the case of
wealthy SUV buyers who want to
avoid paying a small extra premium
that wi l l fund soci al sector
investments is plainly indefensible.
In a populous country with scarce
resources, even the choice of an
SUV for mobility is unsocial, as
Minister Jairam Ramesh observed a
couple of years ago, when he was
i n charge of the Envi ronment
Ministry. Moreover, allowing SUVs
to access unlimited subsidised
diesel when public buses are asked
to pay bulk prices adds to the
iniquity prevailing in transport.
Given all this, it is surprising that
Minister for Heavy Industries and
Public Enterprises Praful Patel has
sought withdrawal of the hike in
subsidy on these vehicles using the
fig leaf of falling automotive sales.
The emergence of motor car
and motorised two-wheeler sales as
prime drivers of growth in the
automotive sector is incompatible
with the need for sustai nabl e
mobility. If people must be able to
travel quickly in urban centres and
in rural areas, the backbone must be
mass transport. Acknowledging the
falling share of public transport and
non-motorised modes in cities, the
Pl anni ng Commi ssions Expert
Group on Low Carbon Strategies for
Inclusive Growth headed by Kirit
Parikh said in its interim report that
fuel efficiency must be promoted
through l abel l ing of vehi cles,
defi ni ng mini mum effi ci ency
standards and incentivising bus
operations in cities through capital
subsi dy and fuel duty
reimbursements. This is the obvious
way to go, but none of this seems
to be on the pri ori ty l i st of
policymakers. Extraordinarily, they
are targeting the SUV duty hike on
the ground that there is no separate
classification for such vehicles
under the Motor Vehicles Act,
ignoring the rules on vehicle length
and engi ne capaci ty al ready
available. If Mr. Patel and others like
him indeed want to help villagers
who need better mobility, he should
be asking for concessions for the
bus industry. That can lead to
robust, low cost vehicles to serve
thousands. After all, the commercial
vehicle industry is in an even more
difficult situation than the passenger
car sector.
Courtesy-The Hindu
Vivekanandas legacy of
universalism
A variety of activities is in the
offing to commemorate Swami
Vivekanandas i mmense
contribution to the making of India
as a nation. The occasion: the 150th
birth anniversary of Swamij i .
Seminars, workshops, publications
and such other means to perpetuate
his memory and assess the
significance of his contribution form
part of the celebrations. Strangely,
at the forefront of this celebration
are the Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh and its front organisations.
Strange because Vi vekananda
hardly had anything in common with
the sangh parivar, except being
Hindu by birth.
Devoted Hindu, not communal
The ideology of the sangh
parivar is rooted in religious hatred
and Swami ji stood for social
harmony and inter-faith dialogue.
There can be no meeting point
between these two. Yet, the Hindu
fundamentalists trace their lineage
to the neo-Hindu movement of
which Vivekananda was the central
figure. None of his observations on
Hi nduism, unl ess taken out of
context, seems to give credence to
the proposition that he had a
communal outl ook. He was a
devoted Hi ndu, passionatel y
involved in bringing about cultural
and spiritual welfare of the people.
He indeed realised that changes
were necessary but he was unhappy
about the course the reform
movements had fol l owed. He
decried the primacy ascribed to
caste in concepts and practices of
soci al reform movement. Any
attempt to fi nd a soluti on, he
believed, was a difficult task,
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because religion had become rigid
and inflexible, on the one hand, and
obscurantist and superstitious, on
the other.
It is only in the light of early
reform movements their success,
failures and limitations that
Vivekanandas quest for a resurgent
India could be assessed. By the end
of the century, almost all early
movements had lost much of their
vigour and following. The decline in
the reform atmosphere paved the
way for the emergence of a
powerful spiritual leader. This void
was filled by Swamiji, by initiating a
movement, based on individual
worship in place of collective
congregational worship which Ram
Mohan Roy and his contemporaries
had favoured. The organised
religious reform movement was an
anathema to him, al though he
himself started one, though of a
different order, which was based on
compassion, social service and
humanitarianism.
Vivekanandas plan of action
was not limited to the religious
realm. He was equally sensitive to
social and economic issues. In other
words, Hi ndus shoul d stri ve
towards a total transformation and
i ncl usive growth. Caste i s
omnipotent in Indian society but he
discarded it without any hesitation.
He had observed the working of the
Brahmo Samaj and that experience
seems to have coloured his general
attitude to all reform movements. By
the time Vivekananda came on the
scene, except in a few pockets like
Kerala and Punjab, reformation had
lost its vitality. He believed that
reform had already run its course.
By the last quarter of the 19th
century, the religious movements
had almost vanished, even if popular
religion was on the ascendant. To
the Indian middle class which
formed the social base of these
movements, he had choi cest
epithets: cursed by the wheels of
divisions, superstitious, without an
iota of charity, hypocritical, atheistic
cowards, etc.
Thi s is not to argue that
Vivekananda did not recognise the
importance of the contributions of
the middle class in creating an
atmosphere of reform. Instead, he
took great pride in what the Brahmo
Samaj had already accomplished in
the social and religious life of
people. Spirituality alone was not
the only concern of Vivekananda. He
spent a major part of hi s li fe
travell ing, whi ch undoubtedl y
influenced his world view. He was
particularly sensitive about poverty
and the inhuman caste practices. He
prophesi ed that, one day, the
Shudra would rule. The stark reality
of caste oppression in Kerala made
a lasting impression on his mind.
The process of Indi an
reformation had three facets. The
first was a liberal modernising phase
in which reformers like Ram Mohan
Roy attempted to change some of
the traditional practices. The second
was a rejection of all that was alien
to soci ety, and an attempt at
indigenous mode of modernisation.
The third was to build an alternative
model of modernity which would
embrace the traditional and the
modern. The path chosen by
Vivekananda was the third. The first
group was that of the reformers for
whom he had undisguised
contempt, dismissing them as babu
reformers. The conservatives and
traditionalists formed the second
group. The members of this group
were mired in superstitions and
ritualism. Swamijis method of
reform was not merely advocacy of
reform, but also through
constructive social work.
The central idea in the life and
teachi ng of Vi vekananda was
religious universalism. In the eyes of
those who believed in universalism,
there was no difference between
the followers of different religions.
All religions are universal equal
and true. Vivekananda, however,
argued that i n Hi ndui sm,
uni versal ism found i deal
articulation. And was hence a leader
i n spiri tual matters. Equal l y
important was his notion of social
service for which he set up the
Ramakrishna Mission. The mission
gave an entirely new ambience to
reform.
The popular and academic
perceptions of Vivekanandas role
are highly influenced by his famous
speech at the World Congress of
Reli gi ons and the rel i gious
discourses he delivered during the
extensive tours he undertook in
India. In his highly applauded
speech at the Congress, he tried to
highlight the universalism inherent
i n al l reli gi ons and then to
demonstrate that it was best
exemplified in Hinduism. Such a
position was derived from his belief
i n Vedanta which, he argued,
transcended the l imi ts of any
parti cul ar rel igi on or cul tural
tradition. Truth, alone is my god;
the entire world is my country,
maintained Vivekananda. Thus he
tried to reconcile his understanding
of universalism with the Hindu
philosophical system. His perhaps
was the most creati ve
understanding of universalism.
Because he argued that all religions
were universal and that there was
no superiority of one over the other.
He said every reli gi on i s an
expression, a language to express
the same truth, and we must speak
to each other in his own language.
Language of Ramakrishna
His l anguage was not the
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language of puritanical Hinduism
but the language of Ramakrishna.
Let Hindus call it Hindu religion
let others similarly name it (what
they like). Does our master belong
only to India? asked Vivekananda.
Indias degeneration is the result of
the narrow attitudes that he argued
against.
Any beneficial outcome is
i mpossibl e unl ess these are
destroyed. The idea of religious
universalism which preached that all
religions are true, and not that there
is truth in all religions, was central
to the thought of every reformer,
both Hindu and Muslim. He was not
advocati ng reform whi ch he
perceived as a worthl ess
preoccupation of the alienated
English educated middle class. He
did not expect anything tangible
from this class. They were crushed
by the wheels of caste divisions,
superstitious, without any iota of
chari ty, hypocri ti cal , atheisti c
cowards.
He had nothing but contempt
for this class which formed the
soci al base of reform. The
implication of this critique was that
he made a clear break with the past
efforts at reform from the time of
Ram Mohan Roy. The alternative he
envisioned was social change, to be
effected through education and
social reform. That is the reason for
his initiative for the formation of the
Ramakri shna movement which
organised its activities in the field of
education and social service. Finally,
did Hindu revivalist movements gain
from his ideas? Unfortunately, they
did. But if he were to be back in
contemporary India, it is most
unlikely that it would be in the
communal camp.
Courtesy-The Hindu
Young, educated and dangerous
When Fai sal Shahzad, the
Paki stani -Ameri can upwardl y
mobi le son of a retired senior
Pakistan Ai r Force offi cer was
picked up for the bombing attempt
at New York Citys Times Square in
the summer of 2010, it was seen as
an aberration but it chipped at the
comforti ng argument that
youngsters take to terrorism out of
poverty and deprivation.
Subsequent studies have
driven home this disconcerting fact.
The radicali sati on of Paki stani
society was pervasive enough for
analyst Ayesha Siddiqa to call it a
social pop culture in her study of
the socio-political attitudes among
students of eli te educati onal
i nsti tuti ons i n 2010. Another
concern that emerged in several
attempts to understand terrorism in
Paki stan was that i t was not
peripheral geographically as in
not just confined to the tribal areas
adjoi ning Afghani stan but
flourishing right in the heart of the
country, especially Punjab. The
Pakistan Security Report of 2010,
brought out by the Pakistan Institute
of Peace Studies, dwelt on growing
urban terrorism.
And, more recently, a pre-
election survey conducted by the
Sustainable Development Policy
Institute had Central Punjab showing
the strongest support for
punishment for blasphemy laws,
maxi mum opposi ti on to non-
Muslims in public office, and anti-
Ahmadi sentiments. The recent
analysi s of 900 biographies of
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives
killed between 1989 and 2008, thus,
fits the pattern that has been
established though the powers that
be in Pakistan seemingly refuse to
read the writing on the wall. The LeT
cadres were found to be well-
educated compared to Pakistani
men, and the bulk of the recruitment
was from Punjab.
Locations and recruitments
Billed as one of Pakistans most
lethal and potent militant proxy
groups essentially focused on
waging a low-level war of attrition
in Indian Kashmir, a vast majority
of LeT fighters were Punjabi, not
Kashmiri.
As mush as 89 per cent of the
recruits were from Punjab and
within the province, while a greater
number of militants seem to have
originated from the areas that
border India or are quite close to it.
A majority of the militants under the
scanner in this study came from
densely populated and urbanised
districts of the provi nce with
Gujranwala, Faislabad and Lahore
producing more terrorists than any
other district in the country. These
are also the locations where the LeT
i s active and has a l ot of
infrastructure.
Links with army
Conducted with the support of
Combating Terrorism Centre at the
U.S. Military Academy, West Point,
the study does not subscribe to the
official narrative that Pakistanis are
not involved in acts of terrorism, and
only diplomatic and moral support
i s rendered to i ndi genous
mujahideens fighting in India. There
is considerable overlap among the
districts that produce LeT militants
and those that produce Pakistan
army officers, a dynamic that raises
a number of questi ons about
potenti al l y overl appi ng social
networks between the army and
LeT. While certainly not the norm,
at least 18 biographies in our data
set describe connections between
LeT fighters and immediate family
members (i.e. fathers or brothers)
who are currently serving or had
served in Pakistans army or air
force. In several of these cases, the
militants father had fought with the
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Pakistani Army in the 1965 war in
Kashmir and/or during the conflict
in 1971 over the status of then East
Pakistan. In one case a militants
father was described as a senior
officer in the Pakistan army.
As for LeTs training capacity,
the authors of the study, titled The
Fighters of Lashkar-e-Tai ba:
Recruitment, Training, Deployment
and Death, quote esti mates
suggesting that at least three lakh
men have received some form of
LeT trai ni ng over the last two
decades.
They are picked young with 90
per cent of the militants joining the
LeT before they turned 22. The
youngest recruit this study threw up
was 11, the oldest, 30. The mean age
when a recruit joins LeT is 16.95
years and the militants median age
at the time of death is 21. Among
the 900 biographies, the youngest
age at which a militant died was 14.
While this analysis shows that some
of the best educated men of
Pakistan were sent to Indian Kashmir
to die, it challenges the perception
that they are all products of religious
educati on offered through
the madrassas .
Religious education in all
l ikel ihood supplemented non-
religious education rather than the
former serving as a substitute for the
latter. The amount of time fighters
spent at a madrassa was less than
three years on average. Fewer than
five per cent of fighters had attained
a sanad (a formal certi fi cate
signifying completion of a defined
religious curriculum). Stating that
the data at hand attests to the
enduring nature of LeT and its
sustained ability to attract high-
quality recruits from across the
Punjab and through a variety of
means for operations throughout
South Asia, the authors of the study
concl ude that the ongoi ng
programmes to Counter Violent
Extremism (CVE) will not diminish
the LeTs ability to recruit, retain and
deploy militants.
For CVE programmi ng i n
Pakistan to be effective, it would
have to undermine the trust that
exists between LeT and members of
Pakistani society, and counter the
narrative that LeT is an instrument
for positive change, says the study.
This task is rendered challenging by
the range of LeTs social service
activities through its reincarnate, the
Jamat-ud-Dawah. Add to this the
LeTs linkages with elements in the
security establishment. Referring to
the expansive and overt presence of
the LeT throughout the country and
its ability to recruit from schools,
mosques and madrassas besides
circulate i ts publ i cati ons, the
authors say this reflects a degree
of tolerance if not outri ght
assistance from the Pakistani state.
Having said this, the concern
articulated is that should elements
of Pakistans security establishment
view it in their interest to spoil peace
or reignite conflict in the region
(potentially to serve as a release
valve for domestic challenges or to
di rect the actions of mil itants
acti vely wagi ng war against
Islamabad), they will likely turn to
trusted Pakistani militant groups like
LeT to do their bidding.
Courtesy-The Hindu
In Afghan peace, the
Pakistan factor
In Paki stan these days, a
strange kind of schizophrenia is
afoot, as the excitement over
completing five, fulsome years of
democratic rule competes with a
growing tension with Afghanistan.
Over the past couple of weeks,
Pakistani offi ci als and Afghan
leaders have accused each other of
fomenting terrorism, disturbingly
raising the pitch and dropping all
pretence of good neighbourl y
relations. According to the Afghans,
the Pakistani military in late March
indulged in unprovoked shelling and
i l legal constructi on along the
Durand Li ne i n the eastern
Nangarhar province of Afghanistan
which Pakistan denies which
has so angered Kabul that it has
cancelled its offer to train some of
its military personnel in Pakistan.
War of words
An accompanyi ng war of
words has since claimed the air
between the two neighbours. An
unnamed Pakistani official told
Reuters that the bi ggest
impediment to the (Afghan) peace
process is Karzai. In trying to look
l ike a savi our, he i s taking
Afghanistan straight to hell.
The Afghan Foreign Ministry
made its anger known through a
statement. This demonstrates the
interfering but delusional tendency
of some in Pakistan who choose to
i gnore Afghanistans
sovereignty...and continue to want
to...re-exert control in Afghanistan
through armed proxies, it said.
About the same ti me,
Pakistans intelligence agency, the
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), told
its Supreme Court that the Afghan
government was providing strong
support to several anti-Pakistan
terrorist groups, including the
Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.
Clearly, as the clock moves
inexorably towards the drawdown
by the U.S. and international troops
in April 2014, exactly a year from
now, questions about the kind of
role Pakistan can and should play
in the region, lie at the heart of
the escalating tension between the
Afghan and Pakistan leadership. The
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Afghans argue that the Pakistanis
have done little since the 9/11
incidents to eliminate terrorist
havens and safe spaces inside their
country, which the Taliban brazenly
uses as sanctuary to mount attacks
inside Afghanistan and then return
home to Pakistan.But Paki stan
continues to demand a position of
primacy in the Pakistan-Afghan
relationship, citing its front line state
status as well as deep ethnic,
civilisational and religious links
between Pashtuns on both sides of
the Durand Line. For years after
September 11, as Afghanistan and
the international community sought
to rebui l d that country,
Afghanistans leaders held their
tongue about what they really felt
the Pakistani deep state was up
to.Karzai, in fact, even moved out his
former outspoken intelligence chief
Amrullah Saleh because he realised
that Saleh had gone too far in his
public criticism about the Pakistani
army and ISI using the Haqqani
network of terrorists and other
Tal i ban to foment troubl e i n
Afghanistan. And that his comments
were beginning to impact the
relationship between Kabuls chief
sponsor, the U.S., and Pakistan.
But Pakistan refused to back
off. So when Karzai s new
intelligence chief Asadullah Khalid
barely survived a suicide attempt in
early December, a furious Karzai
announced that this man, who
came in the name of a guest, came
from Pakistan.What really infuriates
the Afghans i s that Paki stan
continues to treat their country as a
weak-willed state with a ragtag
security and police force that is
totally corrupted from within. Even
i f seri ous troubl e breaks out
between the various Afghan ethnic
groups after the Americans leave, a
Karzai adviser said on the condition
of anonymity, it will be a totally
different situation from the time the
Soviets left in 1989.Afghanistan is
a new country today, but the only
one who doesnt seem to have
recognised it is Pakistan, he said.
When the Taliban took over in the
mid-1990s, the Pakistanis were only
one in three countries in the world
who supported them. They believe
that when the Americans leave in
2014, they will return to being the
most influential in Afghanistan
through their control of the Taliban
and the Haqqani network. The
reality is totally different, he added.
Karzais supporters say he
remains deeply upset by Pakistans
refusal , in the decade si nce
September 11, to act agai nst
hardline Afghan Taliban leaders
living in Pakistan, in Quetta or
Miramshah or elsewhere. Instead,
the Paki stani s i nsti gated the
Americans to open direct talks with
the Taliban, while the Americans,
never very fond of Karzai, kept
telling him to settle with Pakistan.
Both initiatives sought to undermine
him, Karzai felt.
The l ast straw came i n
February during the London peace
talks when the Pakistani side pushed
Karzai to sign a Strategic Partnership
Agreement, on the lines that Kabul
had signed with Delhi in 2011. The
document, in fact, had been given
to the Afghan Foreign Minister,
Zalmai Rassoul, during a visit to
Islamabad in November 2012 by his
charming counterpart, Hina Rabbani
Khar, throwing the suave Afghan off-
balance. It had not been on the
agenda of their talks, but Rassoul
took the paper back home with him.
For constructive role
It turned out that the Pakistanis
wanted a special relationship to be
institutionalised with Afghanistan,
code l anguage for priori tising
Paki stan in i ts affai rs. They
demanded the sidelining of India
(not even a Muslim country, the
Paki stani Ambassador to
Afghanistan, Mohammed Sadiq, had
dismissively told former Taliban
leader, Musa Hotak, during Ramzan
celebrati ons l ast year) and
discussed the offer to train some
Afghan army personnel in Pakistan.
Both sides promised to get their
clerics to hold a conference in
which suicide bombings would be
condemned as un-Islamic.
Within weeks, a top Pakistani
cleric was justifying the actions of
the suicide bomber and refusing to
attend such a conference.
We want Pakistan to play a
similar constructive role and secure
the hearts and minds of the Afghan
people, just as India has done. We
dont want a relationship that breeds
violence and hatred. Afghanistan
will protect its partnership with
India at any cost, Shaida Abdali,
Afghanistans Ambassador to India,
told this reporter.
As for Pakistans remarks that
President Karzai has become an
obstacle to a peace settlement...Yes,
he is an obstacle to a foreign-owned
and foreign-led peace settlement,
not to an Afghan-owned and
Afghan-led one, Abdali added.
An Afghan-watcher i n
Islamabad pointed out that Zardari
i s ful ly aware that hi s own
establishment continues to use
terrorists to promote its interests in
Afghanistan, but cannot do much
about it. He agreed that Zardaris
influence, even at the end of five
years in power, hardly extended to
security and the foreign policy
towards Indi a, l eave alone
Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, as U.S. troops
begi n to draw down from
Afghanistan, all eyes are focused on
what the region will do to keep a
civil warlike situation at bay. Karzai
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is said to be extremely keen that
India supply military equipment to
Afghanistan as well as substantially
increase the numbers of security
forces being trained by New Delhi,
in line with the SPA signed with
Kabul in 2011. But the truth is that
India remains extremely hesitant.
Some talk has also begun of a
realignment of forces between
Russia, Iran and India to both train
and fund the equipping of the
nascent Afghan security forces. The
Ameri cans have begun secret
parleys with Iran in the hope that it
will support the new Afghanistans
interests. Moscow remains deeply
worried. Only the Chinese still want
to deal on their own.
We will not allow anyone to
undermine the Afghan state, not the
Tal i ban, the Paki stanis, the
Ameri cans or anyone other
foreigner. In fact, we have decided
to talk to the Taliban, in Bagram
prison or outside, those who are
wil l i ng to j oin the pol i tical
process...There are many, including
those in the Quetta shura willing to
reconcile. We are tired of war. And
we are determined to create a new
country, Abdali said.
Courtesy-The Hindu
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Civil Services Mentor - Powered by
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ADDRESS
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B.N.: 31-34, Commercial Complex, Dr. Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi - 110009
For any Query Please Call:- 011-45051881 +91 9212043702
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Sovereignty over the Falkland
Islands (Islas Malvinas in Spanish) is
disputed between Argentina and
the United Kingdom. The British
claim to sovereignty dates from
1690, and the United Kingdom has
exercised de facto sovereignty over
the archipelago almost continuously
since 1833. Argentina has long
disputed this claim, having been in
control of the islands for a brief
period prior to 1833. The dispute
escalated in 1982, when Argentina
invaded the islands, precipitating
the Falklands War. Contemporary
Falkland Islanders prefer to remain
British. They gained full British
citi zenship with the Bri tish
Nationality (Falkland Islands) Act
1983, after the Falklands War.
French Settlement
France was the first country to
establish de facto control in the
Falkl and Isl ands, wi th the
foundation of Port Saint Louis in East
Falkland by French nobleman, Louis
Antoine de Bougainville, in 1764.
The French colony consisted of a
small fort and some settlements with
settled the limits of the Spanish
Empire in the Americas. However,
the treaty only promised to restore
the territories in the Americas held
prior to the War of the Spanish
Succession. The Falkland Islands
was not held at the time, and were
not mentioned in the treaty. From
1774 to 1811, the islands were ruled
as part of the Viceroyalty of the River
Plate. In that period, 18 governors
were appointed to rule the islands.
In 1777, Governor Ramon de Carassa
was ordered to destroy the remains
at Port Egmont. The British plaque
was removed and sent to Buenos
Aires.[3]:51
British Settlements
The British first landed on the
Falklands in 1690, when Captain
John Strong sailed through Falkland
Sound, naming this passage of water
after Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount of
Fal kland, the First Lord of the
Admiralty at that time. In 1770 a
Spanish military expedition was sent
to the islands after authorities in
Buenos Aires became aware of the
British colony. Facing a greater
a population of around 250. The
Islands were named after the Breton
port of St. Mal o as the les
Mal ouines, whi ch remains the
French name for the islands. In 1766,
France agreed to leave the islands
to Spain, with Spain reimbursing de
Bougainvil l e and the St. Mal o
Company for the cost of the
settlement.[1][2] France insisted that
Spain maintain the colony in Port
Louis and thus prevent Britain from
claiming the title to the Islands and
Spain agreed.[3]
Spanish Settlement
In 1493 the Pope Alexander VI
issued a Papal bull, Inter caetera,
dividing the New World between
Spain and Portugal. The following
year, the Treaty of Tordesill as
between those countries agreed
that the dividing line between the
two should be 370 leagues west of
the Cape Verde Islands.[4] The
Fal kl ands l i e on the western
(Spanish) side of this line. Spain
made claims that the Falkl and
Islands were held under provisions
in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht which
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force, the British were expelled from
Port Egmont. The colony was
restored a year later following British
threats of war over the islands.
However, i n 1774, economi c
pressures leadi ng up to the
American Revolutionary War forced
Great Britain to withdraw from the
Falklands along with many of its
other overseas settlements. By 1776
the British had left Port Egmont,
leaving behind a plaque asserting
British sovereignty over the islands.
Al though there was no Bri ti sh
administration in the islands, British
and American sealers routinely used
them to hunt for seals, also taking
on fresh water as well as feral cattle,
pi gs and even pengui ns for
provisions. Whalers also used the
islands to shelter from the South
Atlantic weather and to take on fresh
provisions.
On 2 January 1833, Captain
James Onslow, of the brig-sloop
HMS Clio, arrived at the Spanish
settlement at Port Louis to request
that the Argentine flag be replaced
with the British one, and for the
Argentine administration to leave
the islands. While Argentine Lt. Col.
Jos Mara Pinedo, commander of
the Argentine schooner Sarand,
wanted to resist, his numerical
disadvantage was obvi ous,
particularly as a large number of his
crew were British mercenaries who
were unwilling to fight their own
countrymen. The colony was set up
and the islands continued under a
British presence until the Falklands
War. After their return in 1833, the
British began moves to begin a fully-
fledged colony on the islands,
initially based upon the settlers
remaining in Port Louis. Vernets
deputy, Matthew Brisbane, returned
later that year to take charge of the
settlement and was encouraged to
further Vernets business interests
provided he did not seek to assert
Argentine Government authority.
A Bri tish col oni al
administration was formed in 1842.
This was expanded in 1908, when
i n addi ti on to South Georgi a
claimed in 1775, and the South
Shetland Islands claimed in 1820 the
UK unilaterally declared sovereignty
over more Antarctic territory south
of the Falklands, including the South
Sandwich Islands, the South Orkney
Islands, and Graham Land, grouping
them into the Falkland Islands
Dependencies. In 1850, the Arana-
Southern Treaty otherwise known as
the Convention of Settlement was
si gned between Bri tai n and
Argentina. The Convention was
referred to as a peace treaty. The
Convention of Settlement ended
Argenti nas protests over the
Falklands. After the Message to
Congress in December 1849, the
Falklands were not mentioned again
in the Messages to Congress for 91
years until 1941.
Following the introduction of
the Antarctic Treaty System in 1959
the Falkland Island Dependencies
were reduced to include South
Georgia and the South Sandwich
Isl ands. In 1976 the Bri tish
Government commissioned a study
on the future of the Falklands,
looking at the ability of the Islands
to sustain themselves, and the
potential for economi c
development.
Argentine Settlements
Argentina decl ared i ts
independence from Spain in 1816,
al though thi s was not then
recognised by any of the major
powers. Britai n i nformal l y
recogni zed Argentine
independence on 15 December
1823, as the province of Buenos
Aires, and formally recognised it on
2 February 1825, but like the US did
not recognise the full extent of the
territory claimed by the new state.
The new state, the United Provinces
of the River Plate, was formed by
provinces of the former Viceroyalty
of the River Plate and as such
clai med soverei gnty over the
Falklands.
In October 1820, the frigate
Herona, under the command of
American privateer Colonel David
Jewett, arrived in Puerto Soledad
following an eight-month voyage
and with most of her crew
i ncapaci tated by scurvy and
disease. A storm had severely
damaged the Herona and had sunk
a Portuguese ship pirated by Jewett
cal led the Carlota, forcing the
Heroina to put into Puerto Soledad
for repairs. The captain chose to rest
and recover in the islands, seeking
assistance from the British explorer
James Weddell. Weddell reported
that only thirty seamen and forty
soldiers out of a complement of two
hundred were fit for duty, and that
Jewett slept with pistols over his
head fol l owi ng an attempted
mutiny. On 6 November 1820,
Jewett raised the flag of the United
Provinces of the River Plate and
claimed possession of the islands
for the new state.
Luis Vernet, controversially
appoi nted Mi l itary and Ci vi l
Commander of Falkland Islands and
the Islands adjacent to Cape Horn
in 1829. In 1823, the Buenos Aires
government granted land on East
Fal kl and to Jorge Pacheco, a
businessman from Buenos Aires
who owed money to the merchant
Luis Vernet. A first expedition
travelled to the islands the following
year, arriving on the East Falkland
Island February 2nd, 1824, but failed
almost as soon as it landed[citation
needed]. Its leader was Pablo
Areguat, who brought with him 25
gauchos. Ten days later Areguat
wrote that the colony was perishing
because the horses they had
brought were too weak to be used,
thus they could not capture wild
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cattle and their only other means of
subsistence were wild rabbits. June
7th, Areguat left the islands, taking
with him 17 gauchos. July 24th, the
remaining 8 gauchos were rescued
by the Susannah Anne, a British
sealer. After the failure, Pacheco
agreed to sell his share to Vernet.
A second attempt, in 1826,
sanctioned by the British[citation
needed] (but delayed until winter
by a Brazilian blockade), also failed
after arrival in the islands.[citation
needed] In 1828, the Buenos Aires
government granted Vernet all of
East Fal kland, including all its
resources, with exemption from
taxation for 20 years, if a colony
could be established within three
years. He took settlers, including
British Captain Matthew Brisbane,
and before leaving once again
sought permission from the British
Consulate in Buenos Aires. The
British asked for a report on the
islands for the British government,
and Vernet asked for Bri tish
protection should they return.
On Vernets return to the
Falklands, Puerto Soledad was
renamed Puerto Luis. The Buenos
Aires Government, headed by
General Juan Galo de Lavalle (who
took the governorship by force on
December 1st, 1828, and executed
the el ected governor Manuel
Dorrego) appointed Vernet
Political and Military Commander
in a decree of June 13th, 1829. The
British objected as an Argentine
attempt to foster political and
economic ties to the islands. One of
Vernets first acts was to curb seal
hunting on the Islands to conserve
the dwindling seal population. In
response, the British consul at
Buenos Aires protested the move
and restated the cl ai m of hi s
government. Islanders were born
duri ng this peri od (i ncl udi ng
Mal vi na Mar a Vernet y Saez,
Vernets daughter).
Vernet l ater sei zed three
Ameri can shi ps, the Harri et,
Superi or and Breakwater for
breaking his restrictions on seal
hunting. The Breakwater escaped to
raise the alarm and the Superior was
allowed to continue its work for
Vernets benefit. Property on board
the Harriet was seized and Vernet
returned with it to Buenos Aires for
the Captain to stand trial. The
Ameri can Consul in Argentina
protested Vernets actions and
stated that the United States did not
recognise Argentine sovereignty in
the Fal kl ands. The consul
dispatched a warship, the USS
Lexington, to Puerto Luis to retake
the confiscated property.
By 1831, the colony was
successful enough to be advertising
for new colonists, although a report
by the captain of the Lexington
suggests that the conditions on the
islands were quite miserable. The
captain of the Lexington in his report
asserts that he destroyed the
settlements powder store and
spiked the guns, however it was
later claimed that during the raid the
Argentine settlement at Puerto Luis
was destroyed. Upon leaving to
return to Montevideo, the captain of
the Lexington declared the islands
to be res nullius (the property of no
one). (Darwi ns visi t i n 1833
confirmed the squalid conditions in
the settlement, although Captain
Matthew Brisbane (Vernets deputy)
later insisted that those were the
resul t of the attack by the
Lexington.) Vernet having returned
to Buenos Aires in 1831 before the
Lexingtons attack resigned as
governor. An interim governor,
Esteban Jos Francisco Mestivier,
was appointed by the Buenos Aires
Government, who with his family
arrived at Puerto Luis aboard the
schooner Sarand in October 1832.
Mestiviers appointment again drew
protests from the British consul in
Buenos Aires. The Sarand, under
the command of its captain, Jos
Mara Pinedo, then began to patrol
the surrounding seas. Upon its
return to Puerto Luis on 29
December 1832, the Sarand found
the colony in an uproar. In Pinedos
absence there had been a mutiny led
by a man named Gomila; Mestivier
had been murdered and his wife
raped. The captain of the French
vessel Jean Jacques had meanwhile
provided assistance disarming and
incarcerating the mutineers. Pinedo
dispatched the mutineers to Buenos
Aires with the British schooner
Rapi d. Gomil a woul d be
condemned to exile, while six other
mutineers were executed. On 2
January 1833, Captain John Onslow
arri ved and del i vered wri tten
requests that Pinedo lower the
Argentine flag in favour of the British
one, and that the Argenti ne
administration leave the islands. It
is also documented that at least 27
members of Vernets colony were
still in residence in the islands in July
1833. Back on the mainland, Pinedo
faced court marti al ; he was
suspended for four months and
transferred to the army, though he
was recalled to the navy in 1845.
Sovereignty Sispute
In 1833, Manuel Moreno
(representing the United Provinces)
protested against the Bri ti sh
occupation of the islands, and the
issue was then debated annually in
the Argentine Congress until 1849
with a formal protest issued each
year. The British rejected the initial
protest, and did not answer the
subsequent protests. The matter
was not raised again in Congress
until 1941.
The 1850 Conventi on of
Settlement, otherwise known as the
Arana-Southern Treaty, which did
not mention the islands, agreed to
restore perfect rel ati ons of
friendshi p between the two
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countries. There were no further
protests until 1885, when Argentina
included the Falkland Islands in an
officially sponsored map. In 1888,
Argentina made an offer to have the
matter subject to arbitration but this
was rejected by the Bri ti sh
Government. Other than the protest
l odged i n 1885, the Bri ti sh
Government did not acknowledge
any further protests by Argentina
until the 1940s, although the official
posi tion of the Argenti ne
Government is that During the first
half of the twentieth century, the
successive Argentine governments
made it standard practice to submit
protests to the United Kingdom.
The Argentine Government does not
identify these annual protests but
authors such as Roberto Laver claim
at least 27 sovereignty claims, both
to Britain, domestically in Argentina
and to international bodies. In
International Law, territorial claims
are usually considered defunct if
there is a gap of 50 years or more
between protests over sovereignty.
Following World War II, the
Briti sh Empi re decl ined and
colonies in Asia, Africa and the
Cari bbean gai ned thei r
independence. Argentina saw this
as an opportunity to push its case
for gaining sovereignty over the
Falkland Islands and raised the issue
in the United Nations, first stating its
claim after joining the UN in 1945.
Following the Argentine claim, the
United Kingdom offered to take the
dispute over the Falkland Island
Dependencies to mediation at the
International Court of Justice in The
Hague (1947, 1948 and 1955); on
each occasion Argentina declined.
In 1964, the United Nations
passed a resolution calling on the
UK and Argentina to proceed with
negotiations on finding a peaceful
solution to the sovereignty question
which would be bearing in mind
the provisions and objectives of the
Charter of the United Nations and
of General Assembly resolution
1514 (XV) and the interests of the
population of the Falkland Islands
(Mal vi nas). A series of tal ks
between the two nations took place
over the next 17 years until 1981 but
failed to reach a conclusion on
soverei gnty. Al though the
sovereignty discussions had some
success in establishing economic
and transport links between the
Falklands and Argentina, there was
no progress on the question of
sovereignty of the Islands.
Following the signing of the
Communications Agreement, on 3
July 1971 the Argentine Air Force
broke the islands airways isolation
by opening an air route with an
amphibious flight from Comodoro
Rivadavia with Grumman HU-16B
Albatross aircraft operated by
LADE, Argentinas military airline. In
1972, after an Argentine request, the
United Kingdom agreed to allow
Argentina to construct a temporary
air stri p near Stanl ey. On 15
November 1972 a temporary runway
was inaugurated with the first arrival
of a Fokker F-27 with subsequent
flights arriving twice weekly. Flights
were improved in 1978 with Fokker
F-28 jets following the completion
of a permanent runway funded by
the British Government. This service,
representing the only connection by
air to the islands, was maintained
until the 1982 war.
In 1976, Argentina landed an
expedition in Southern Thule, an
island in the South Sandwich Islands
which at that time was part of the
Falkland Islands Dependency. The
landing was reported in the UK only
in 1978 although the UK government
stated a rejection of the notion of
sending a force of Royal Marines to
dismantl e the Argenti ne base
Corbeta Uruguay. However, a more
serious confrontation occurred in
1977 after the Argentine Navy cut off
the fuel supply to Port Stanley
Airport and stated they would no
longer fly the Red Ensign in Falklands
waters. (Traditionally ships in a
foreign countrys waters would fly
the countrys maritime flag as a
courtesy.) The British Government
suspected Argentina would attempt
another expedition in the manner of
its Southern Thule operation. James
Callaghan, the British Prime Minister
ordered the dispatch of a nuclear
submarine, HMS Dreadnought and
the frigates Alacrity and Phoebe to
the South Atlantic, with rules of
engagement set in the event of a
clash with the Argentine navy. The
British even considered setting up an
exclusion zone around the islands,
but this was rejected in case it
escalated matters. These events
were not made publ ic unti l
Parliamentary debates in 1982 during
the Falklands War.
Falklands War
The Falklands War of 1982 was
the largest and most severe armed
conflict over the sovereignty of the
islands. It started following the
occupation of South Georgia by
Argentine scrap merchants whose
number included some Argentine
Marines. However the UK had also
reduced its presence in the Islands
by announcing the withdrawal of
HMS Endurance, the Royal Navys
icebreaker ship and only permanent
presence in the South Atlantic. The
UK had al so denied Fal kland
Islanders full British citizenship
under the British Nationality Act
1981.
In 1982, Argentina was in the
midst of a devastating economic
crisis and large-scale civil unrest
against the repressive military junta
that was governing the country. On
2 April , wi th Argenti ne Navy
commander-in-chief Admiral Jorge
Anaya as the main architect and
supporter of the operati on, a
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combined Argentine amphibious
force invaded the Isl ands.
Immedi atel y, the UK severed
diplomatic ties with Argentina,
began to assemble a task force to
retake the Islands and a diplomatic
offensive began to gain support for
economic and military sanctions.
The United Nations Security Council
issued Resolution 502 calling on
Argentina to withdraw forces from
the Islands and to both parties to
seek a diplomatic solution. Another
resolution called for an immediate
cease fire but was vetoed by both
the United States and Britain. The
European Community condemned
the invasion and imposed economic
sanctions on Argentina, although
several EC states expressed
reservations about British policy in
thi s area, and two EC states
(Denmark and Ireland) defected
from cooperation. France and
Germany also temporaril y
suspended several mi l i tary
contracts wi th the Argentine
mi li tary. The Uni ted States
supported mediated tal ks, via
Secretary of State Alexander Haig,
and initially took a neutral stance,
although in private substantial
material aid was made available to
the UK from the moment of invasion.
The USA publicly supported the
UKs position following the failure
of peace talks.
The British Task Force began
offensive action against Argentina
on 23 April 1982 and recaptured
South Georgia following a short
naval engagement. The operation to
recover the Falkland Islands began
1 May and after fierce naval and air
engagements an amphi bious
landing was made at San Carlos Bay
on 21 May. On 14 June the Argentine
forces surrendered and control of
the islands returned to the UK.
Following the Argentine surrender,
two Royal Navy ships sailed to the
South Sandwi ch Isl ands and
expelled the Argentine military from
Thule Island, leaving no Argentine
presence in the Falkland Islands
Dependencies.
Post-war
Following the 1982 war, the
British increased their presence in
the Falkland Islands. RAF Mount
Pleasant was constructed. This
allowed fighter jets to be based on
the islands and strengthened the
UKs ability to reinforce the Islands
at short notice. The military garrison
was substantially increased and a
new garrison was established on
South Georgia. The Royal Navy
South Atl anti c patrol was
strengthened to include both HMS
Endurance and a Falkland Islands
guard ship.As well as this military
build-up, the UK also passed the
British Nationality (Falkland Islands)
Act 1983, which granted full British
citizenship to the islanders. To show
British commitment to the islands,
hi gh-profi le British digni tari es
visited the Falklands, including
Margaret Thatcher, the Prince of
Wales and Princess Alexandra, The
Hon Lady Ogilvy. The UK has also
pursued links to the islands from
Chile, which had provided help to
British Forces during the Falklands
War. LAN now provides a direct air
link to Chile from Mount Pleasant.
In 1985 the Fal kl and Isl ands
Dependencies, comprising at that
time the island groups of South
Islands, and Shag Rocks and Clerke
Rocks, became a distinct British
overseas territory South Georgia
and the South Sandwich Islands.
Under the 1985 constitution
the Falkland Islands Government
(FIG) became a parl iamentary
representati ve democrati c
dependency, with the governor as
head of government and
representati ve of the Queen.
Members of the FIG are
democrati cal l y el ected, the
Governor is effectively a figurehead.
Theoretically the Governor has the
power under the 1985 constitution
to exercise executive authority, in
practice he is obliged to consult the
Executive Council in the exercise of
hi s functi ons. The mai n
responsibilities of the Governor are
external affai rs and publ i c
services.[53] Effectively under this
constitution, the Falkland Islands are
self-governing with the exception of
foreign policy, although the FIG
represents itself at the United
Nations Special Committee on
Decol oni sati on as the Bri ti sh
Government no longer attends.
Relations between the UK and
Argentina remained hosti l e
following 1982, and diplomatic
relations were not restored until
1989. Although the United Nations
General Assembl y passed a
resolution calling for the UK and
Argentina to return to negotiations
over the Islands future, the UK ruled
out any further talks over the Islands
soverei gnty. The UK have al so
maintained control s on arms
exports to Argentina, although these
were relaxed in 1998.
Relations improved further in
the 1990s between the UK and
Argentina. In 1998, Carlos Menem,
the President of Argentina visited
London, where he reaffirmed his
countrys claims to the Islands,
although he stated that Argentina
would use only peaceful means for
their recovery. In 2001, Tony Blair,
Pri me Mi nister of the Uni ted
Kingdom visited Argentina where he
stated that he hoped the UK and
Argenti na could resol ve thei r
differences that led to the 1982 war.
However, no talks on sovereignty
took place during the visit and
Argenti nas Presi dent Nstor
Kirchner stated that he regarded
gaining sovereignty over the islands
as a top priority of his government.
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Argentina renewed claims in
June 2006 citing concern over
fishing and petroleum rights, amid
concern when Britain changed from
annuall y granti ng fi shi ng
concessions, to granting a 25 year
concession. On 28 March 2009, UK
Prime Minister Gordon Brown stated
that there was nothing to discuss
with Cristina Kirchner, the Argentine
president, over sovereignty of the
islands, when they met in Chile on
his pre-2009 G-20 London Summit
worl d tour. On 22 April 2009
Argentina made a formal claim to
the UN to an area of the continental
shelf encompassing the Falklands,
South Georgia and South Sandwich
Islands, and parts of Antarctica,
citing 11 years worth of maritime
survey data. The UK qui ckl y
protested these claims.
In February 2010, in response
to British plans to begin drilling for
oil , the Argenti ne government
announced that ships travelling to
the Falklands (as well as South
Islands) would require a permit to
use Argentine territorial waters. The
British and Falkland governments
stated that this announcement did
not affect the waters surrounding
the i sl ands. Despite the new
restrictions, Desire Petroleum began
drilling for oil on 22 February, about
54 nautical miles (100 km, 62 mi)
north of the Islands. In 2011 the
Mercosur bloc agreed to close ports
to ships flying the Falkland Islands
flags, while British-flagged ships
would continue to be allowed.
Residents of the Falkl and
Islands voted almost unanimously to
stay under Briti sh rule i n a
referendum held on 10-11 March
2013. The official figure showed that
99.8 percent of islanders voted in
favor of remaining a British Overseas
Territory in the two-day poll. The
referendum was rej ected by
Argentina. The voters turnout was
92 percent among the 1694
Fal kl ands-born and l ong term
resident. The islands lie off the tip
of Patagonia, at the southern end of
South Ameri ca. Argenti na had
mounted pressure on Britain to
negotiate the sovereignty of the
islands. It has increased its pressure
since UK companies started drilling
for oil and natural gas off the
Falklands coastline. Many Latin
Ameri can nati ons support
Argentina. Argentina has claimed
the Falkland Islands since 1833.
Argentina and Britain had fought a
war in 1982 for rights over the
islands.
Supporters of the Argentine
position make the following claims:
That sovereignty of the islands
was transferred to Argentina
from Spai n upon
independence, a principle
known as uti possidetis juris.
That Spain never renounced
sovereignty over the islands,
even when a British settlement
existed.
That Great Britain abandoned
its settlement in 1776, and
formal l y renounced
sovereignty in the Nootka
Sound Convention.
That the British dropped their
claim by acquiescence by not
protesting the many years of
pacific and effective Spanish
occupati on, after the
abandonment of Port Egmont.
That, i n addi ti on to uti
possidetis juris, sovereignty
was obtai ned when the
islands were formally claimed
in Argentinas name in 1820,
fol l owed by Argenti nas
confirmation and effective
occupation from 1826 to 1833.
That the establi shment of
British de facto rule on the
Falklands in 1833 (referred to
as an act of force by
Argentina) was illegal under
international law, and this has
been noted and protested by
Argentina on 17 June 1833 and
repeated in 1841, 1849, 1884,
1888, 1908, 1927, 1933, 1946,
and yearly thereafter in the
UN.
That the principle of self-
determi nati on i s not
applicable since the current
inhabitants are not aboriginal
and were brought to replace
the Argentine population
That the principle of self-
determination does not apply
to this sovereignty question
because, as Argentina argues,
the current inhabitants are a
transplanted population, of
Bri ti sh character and
nati onal ity, not a di stinct
peopl e as requi red by
external self-determination
doctrine.
That sel f-determinati on is
further rendered inapplicable
due to the disruption of the
terri tori al i ntegri ty of
Argentina that began with a
forceful removal of i ts
authorities in the islands in
1833, thus there is a failure to
compl y wi th an expl i ci t
requirement of UN Resolution
1514 (XV).
That the UN rati fi ed thi s
i nappl i cabi li ty of sel f-
determi nation when the
Assembly rejected proposals
to condition sovereignty on
the wishes of the islanders.
That the islands are located on
the continental shelf facing
Argentina, which would give
them a claim, as stated in the
1958 UN Convention on the
Continental Shelf.
That Great Britain was looking
to extend its territories in
Americas as shown with the
British invasions of the Ro de
la Plata years earlier.
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The Nootka Sound Conventions
In 1789, both the Uni ted
Kingdom and Spain attempted
settlement in the Nootka Sound, on
Vancouver Island. On 25 October
1790, these two Kingdoms
approved the Nootka Sound
Convention, also known as the
Treaty of San Lorenzo del Escorial.
The Conventi ons i ncl uded
provisions recognising that the
coasts and islands of South America
colonised by Spain at the time were
Spanish, and that areas south of the
southernmost settlements were off
limits to both countries, provided
that no third party settled there
either. The conventi ons were
unilaterally repudiated by Spain in
1795 but implicitly revived by the
Treaty of Madrid in 1814.
The si xt h art i cl e of t he
convention states:
It is further agreed with respect
to the eastern and western coasts
of South America and the islands
adj acent, that the respecti ve
subjects shall not form in the future
any establishment on the parts of the
coast situated to the south of the
parts of the same coast and of the
islands adjacent already occupied
by Spain; it being understood that
the said respective subjects shall
retain the liberty of landing on the
coasts and islands so situated for
objects connected with their fishery
and of erecting thereon huts and
other temporary structures serving
only those objects. Whether or not
this includes the islands is disputed
International and Regional Views
Argentina has pursued an
aggressi ve dipl omatic agenda,
regularly raising the issue and
seeking international support. Most
Latin American countri es have
expressed support for the Argentine
position and called for negotiations
to restart at regional summits. China
has backed Argentinas sovereignty
claim, reciprocating Argentinas
support of the Chinese claim to
Taiwan. Since 1964, Argentina has
l obbi ed i ts case at the
Decolonization Committee of the
UN, which annually recommends
dialogue to resolve the dispute. The
UN General Assembly has passed
several resolutions on the issue. In
1988, the General Assembl y
reiterated a 1965 request that both
countries negotiate a peaceful
settlement to the di spute and
respect the interests of the Falkland
Islanders and the principles of UN
GA resolution 1514.
The United States and the
European Union recognize the de
facto administration of the Falkland
Islands and take no position over
their sovereignty; however, the EU
classifies the islands as an overseas
country or terri tory of the UK,
subject to EU law in some areas. The
Commonwealth of Nations lists the
i sl ands as a Bri tish Overseas
Territory. At the 2012 OAS summit
Canada stated its support for the
i sl anders ri ght to sel f-
determination.
S. K. Singh
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Government i n 2011 had
constituted an expert group under
the chai rmanship of Pratha
Dasgupta from the Cambridge
University to develop a framework
for green national accounts,
identification of data gaps and
preparation of a road map for its
implementation. The system of
green national accounting would
take into account the environmental
costs of development and reflect
the use of precious depletable
natural resources in the process of
generating national income. The
need for green national accounts
emerged as there was a growing
recogniti on that contemporary
national accounts were becoming
unsatisfactory basis for economic
evaluation. The qualifier green
signals that we should be especially
concerned about the absence of
information on societys use of the
natural environment. Double-digit
GDP fixation is threatening Indias
biodiversity and its long-term
growth and securi ty. Green
accounting methods have estimated
the loss of ecological wealth in
India. GDP measures the value of
output produced within a country
over a certain time period. However,
any depreciation measurements
used, wi l l account onl y for
manmade capi tal and not the
negati ve impact of growth on
valuable natural capital, such as
water, land, forests, biodiversity and
the resulting negative effects on
human health and welfare. Over the
course of the last fifty years, India
has lost over half its forests, 40 per
cent of i ts mangroves and a
significant part of its wetlands. At
least 40 species of plants and
animals have become extinct with
several hundred more endangered.
In green accounting
approach national accounts are
adjusted to include the value of
natures goods and services. Mr
Jai ram Ramesh, the former
environment minister, advocated
greening Indias national accounts
by 2015 and encouraged policy
makers to recognise the trade-off
between pursuing high growth
economic pol ici es against the
extensive impact they could have on
Indias natural capital. The Green
Indian States Trust (GIST) which, in
2003 unl eashed a seri es of
environmentally adjusted accounts
under the Green Accounting for
Indian States Project. According to
their results, the loss of forest
ecological services (i.e.soil erosion
prevention, flood control and
ground water augmentation) over
three years (2001-03) due to
decl i ning dense forests was
estimated at an astounding 1.1 per
cent of GDP. According to GISTs
latest results, the North-Eastern
states continue to be most affected,
particularly Arunachal Pradesh and
Mizoram where the loss of forest
ecological services is more than 12
per cent of their NSDP.
India expects to put in place
in five years a system of green
national accounting that would take
into account the environmental
costs of development and reflect
the use of precious depletable
natural resources in the process of
generating national income. In the
last few months, I have tried to set
the ball rolling so that by 2015 at
least we can have a system of green
national accounting, Union Minister
of State for Environment and Forests
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Jai ram Ramesh sai d here.
Economi sts esti mate gross
domestic product (GDP) as a broad
measure of national income, while
net domestic product (NDP)
accounts for the use of physical
capital. But as yet, we have no
general l y accepted system to
convert gross domestic product into
green domestic product that would
reflect the use up of preci ous
depletable natural resources in the
process of generating national
income, he said. Economists all
over the world have been at work
for quite some time on developing
a robust system of green national
accounting but we are not there as
yet. Ideally, if we can report both
gross domestic product and green
domestic product, we will get a
better picture of the trade-offs
involved in the process of economic
growth, the Minister added. India
expects to put in place in five years
a system of green nati onal
accounting that would take into
account the environmental costs of
development and reflect the use of
preci ous depl etabl e natural
resources in the process of
generating national income.
A new global partnership to
help developing countries integrate
the economics of ecosystems into
national accounting systems has
been launched by the World Bank.
The alarming loss of biological
diversi ty around the worl d i s
attributable to the lack of proper
valuation of the ecosystems and the
services they provide. The valuation
and its integration into national
accounts are expected to lead to
better management of natural
environments. According to Mr
Robert B. Zoellick, President, World
Bank Group, the natural wealth of
nations should be a capital asset
valued in combination with its
financial capital, manufactured
capital and human capital. The
national accounts should reflect the
vital carbon storage services that
forests provide and the coastal
protection values that come from
coral reefs and mangroves.
The fi rst phase of the
partnership to green national
accounts has been launched starting
with India and Colombia, which will
be in a group of six to 10 countries.
A forthcomi ng World Bank
Publication, titled The Changing
Wealth of Nations, states that the
commercial value of farmlands,
forests, mi neral s and energy
worldwide is more than $44 trillion,
of which, the developing countries
account for $29 trillion. But, there is
more value in the services provided
by ecosystems such as forests, like
hydrology regulation, soil retention
and pollination. The partnership
initiative builds on The Economics
of Ecosystems and Biodiversity
(TEEB) proj ect of the Uni ted
Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP). It will include developing
and developed countries, non-
governmental organisations and the
global organisation for legislators.
During the initial five-year pilot
period, the programme will focus on
how countries can quantify the
ecosystems and their services in
terms of income and asset values;
developing ways to incorporate
these values into policies on wealth
and economic growth; and evolve
guidelines for implementation of the
valuations worldwide, according to
a World Bank report. The feasibility
studi es to i denti fy pri ority
ecosystems will start soon in India
and Colombia, while many other
countries in Africa, Asia, Latin
America and Central Europe have
evinced interest to become partners
in the pilot programme. India and
Brazil lead the number of countries
who are willing to draw on findings
from the three-year study project
The Economics of Ecosystems and
Biodiversity (TEEB) to make their
economi es more environment-
friendly and effectively use the
services of nature. The Brazilian and
Indian governments are among
those keen to use findings from The
Economics of Ecosystems and
Biodiversity (Teeb) project. Final
results from the three-year study
were unveil ed here at the UN
Convention on Biological Diversity
meeting.Natures services must be
counted if they are to be valued, its
leader said.
Gyanesh Pandey
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79. SSC Success Series Indian Economy ` 80
80. SSC Success Series Indian Polity ` 75
81. SSC Success Series General Knowledge ` 75
82. SSC Solved Paper `175
83. )=.)=.=|. =+= = =||= -||-|= :|-r|= `85
84. )=.)=.=|. =+= = =||= -||-|= |==+=|| `85
85. )=.)=.=|. =+== =||= -|=|n `80

Study Kit for Preliminary Examinations:

IAS (Pre) GS Paper 1
http://upscportal.com/civilservices/study-kit/ias-pre/csat-paper-1
IAS (Pre) GS Paper 2
http://upscportal.com/civilservices/study-kit/ias-pre/csat-paper-2
GS Foundation Course (PT+ MAINS) for 2014
http://upscportal.com/civilservices/study-kit/ias-pre/general-studies-foundation-course

Study Kit for Mains Examinations:

Contemporary Issues
http://www.upscportal.com/civilservices/study-kit/contemporary-issues-ias-mains
Public Administration
http://www.upscportal.com/civilservices/study-kit/ias-mains-public-adminstration
Essay Writing
http://www.upscportal.com/civilservices/study-kit/essay-mains
English Grammar & Comprehension
http://www.upscportal.com/civilservices/study-kit/ias-mains-english-compulsory
History
http://www.upscportal.com/civilservices/study-kit/ias-mains-history
Philosophy
http://upscportal.com/civilservices/study-kit/ias-mains-philosophy
Sociology
http://upscportal.com/civilservices/study-kit/ias-mains-sociology
General Studies
http://www.upscportal.com/civilservices/study-kit/gs-mains

Study Kit for UPSC Other Examinations:

Indian Police Service Limited Competitive Examination
http://www.upscportal.com/civilservices/study-kit/ips-lce
Armed Police Forces (CAPF)
http://upscportal.com/civilservices/study-kit/capf

Study Kit for Other Examinations:

SSC Combined Graduate Level (Tier - I)
http://sscportal.in/community/study-kit/cgl
SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination (Tier - II)
http://sscportal.in/community/study-kit/cgl-tier-2
SSC Combined Higher Secondary Level (10+2) Examination
http://sscportal.in/community/study-kit/chsle
UPSCPORTAL Study Kits for IAS, Civil Services &
Other Exams

Civil Services Mentor

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Civil Services Mentor

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Sachchida Nand Jha

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